


You Have Your Secrets, and I Have Mine (So Let's Leave This S*** Alone, Thanks!)

by Crystal_Prisom



Series: The Adventures of (Fem!) Sub-Zero [1]
Category: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: :), After MK9, Don't Like Don't Read, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Female Sub-Zero, Gender or Sex Swap, may be a bit too OC, we're going all the way back boys!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:40:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 54,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_Prisom/pseuds/Crystal_Prisom
Summary: When Kuai Liang, aka Sub-Zero (2.0) entered the Mortal Kombat tournament with his best friend, he did it for the sole purpose of avenging the death of his beloved older brother. He definitely did not expect to get caught up in a war between the realms or make new friends along the way. With Shao Kahn dead and the Earthrealm forces withstanding minimal losses, things are looking good for the future.But peace never lasts.With Quan Chi and his "faithful" servant, Noob Saibot, returning from their absence after the resurrection of Sindel, war is brewing once more. Under the cover of the Netherrealm, they have been raising an army of the undead for three years. A legion of soldiers that do not tire and feel no pain.Raiden, informed by the Elder Gods of this development, makes haste to prepare for the battle. He reaches out to all allies, including the reformed Lin Kuei, whose Grandmaster has been replaced long ago from Sektor to Kuai Liang himself.Now, Kuai and Tomas must work together with friends and enemies (enemy) to save the realms once more, all while holding onto a secret that could threaten their fragile alliances with the others. All-in-all, just another Tuesday, really.
Relationships: Hanzo Hasashi | Scorpion/Sub-Zero, Liu Kang/Kitana, Sonya Blade/Johnny Cage
Series: The Adventures of (Fem!) Sub-Zero [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645606
Comments: 37
Kudos: 42





	1. The Beginning of an Adventure (and I already know this is going to SUCK!)

_Three Years After Shao Kahn's Defeat_

"Can you believe this?!"

Kuai Liang, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei and skillful cryomancer, paused. She sighed amusedly, turning around to face her lifelong friend in the room opposite hers. "Believe what, Tomas?"

The other man, standing in his bedroom and adorned in his grey gear, huffed irritably and threw a pair of pants into his suitcase. "This stupid letter that Raiden sent. We've just settled into our lives, established a daily routine, and now we have to go back to face 'a great and dangerous evil' once again? This whole thing is..." He broke off, dissolving into mumbled curses.

Kuai snorted. "It's been three years, Tomas. We've done a lot, you know. And the only reason we're here is thanks to Raiden and the others who've fought against Shao Kahn. We owe them this."

Tomas groaned unhappily. "You've grown soft, Kuai. First, it was not going after Scorpion after the Shao Kahn issue was resolved. Then, it was settling down and rebuilding the Lin Kuei instead of going out to attack the smaller clans."

The female Grandmaster slammed her suitcase shut suddenly, whipping around and walking to her doorframe. "I've not grown soft. The only reason why I'm choosing to not be so aggressive in clan ordeals is that we are still weak. After wiping out the Cyber Lin Kuei and starting anew, we've had to rebuild from the bottom-up. And despite how many warriors we have now, they are still inexperienced and not fully trained. To attack would be suicide, and that is old Lin Kuei policy, anyways. I'm changing up things for the better."

"Besides," she said, eyes narrowing even more, "I have not forgotten what Scorpion has done. Believe me, once the Lin Kuei have stabilized, I _will_ go after him and kill him for what he did to Bi-Han. A quick death will be merciful for that monster." _Even though Bi-Han and I were never close..._

Tomas nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry for questioning you; there's a reason you are the Grandmaster." He walked into the hallway and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I just feel so... frustrated. Our lives were just looking so much better than they ever used to be. And now we have to leave all this because some asshole decided to show up and declare war!"

Kuai nodded and sighed exhaustedly, moving to sit down on her bed. "I feel the same way, Tomas. But when it comes down to it, we have to do what is right. We are the new generation of Lin Kuei, and we have to forge the way for others to follow in our steps. And it starts with this; with defending Earthrealm from threats. Our clan's history has been shrouded in darkness for too long. We have to move it away from that past."

They both fell into silence, dreading the abandonment of their home. Kuai stood up then, looking up at Tomas. "Come on. I'll help you pack."

* * *

Boarding the plane had been a surprisingly simple process, Kuai had thought. Most unlike the stories Johnny had told her about planes and flying. _Although,_ she thought, _everything that Cage says should be taken with a grain of salt._

Tomas nudged her side, jolting her from her thoughts. "Should we keep our masks on or not? When we get there, that is."

Kuai leaning back in her seat, trying to get comfortable. "You can decide. I'm keeping mine on." Tomas rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Alright. Whatever you want. Is there nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?"

She snickered quietly, trying not to disturb the other passengers on the aircraft. "Hell no. I have an image to upkeep. Did you know that everyone there thinks I'm a guy?"

Tomas raised a brow, turning to fully face her. "What? I mean, I get a lot of comments that my hair makes me look like a girl, but I've never heard that about you."

Kuai shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's a thing apparently. Almost everyone thinks I'm a guy. Except probably Raiden and Kenshi. Man, Kenshi was the best," she sighed happily, reminiscing on her days with her friends.

Tomas nodded slowly. "Yeah... Kenshi was the blind guy, right? Yeah, he had a pretty good sense of humor. I liked Cage, too."

Kuai's nose wrinkled at the mention of the actor. "You liked interacting with Cage, of all people?! Every second he talks, I can _feel_ myself losing brain cells!"

Her friend chuckled. "That's Cage. But every now and then, he'll crack a few good ones here and there, so he's alright in my book."

The Grandmaster shook her head. "I have no idea how Sonya puts up with his bullshit." She closed the window next to her, leaning back and closing her eyes.

* * *

It was the jolt of the plane landing that woke Kuai up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up drowsily, looking over to her left and shaking Tomas.

"Wake up. We're here."

The enenra jerked up, groaning as he stretched in his seated position. "God... I am never flying on a plane again. It stinks, and my arms are super sore."

Kuai rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. "Stop being so dramatic. The only thing that stinks here is your breath, and just wait until you stand up."

After fifteen minutes of Tomas complaining of the pinpricks in his right foot, the duo exited the airport, squinting from the sunlight. Quickly and discreetly, Kuai, who was wearing a plain blue sweatshirt over a white shirt and navy blue jeans to fit in with the civilians, pulled the hood over her head to hide her long hair and retrieved her mask from her backpack, fastening it around the lower half of her face. Tomas gave one look and shook his head.

"You need to get laid," he said bluntly.

Kuai was startled by his declaration and turned to shoot him an incredulous look. "Really?" The man next to her shrugged. "I mean it. Recently, it's been all work, no play with you. You need to loosen up, have some fun! Remember that club we went to for my birthday when we snuck out that one night? The Grandmaster didn't even find out, and we both hooked up. It was great!"

The current Grandmaster snorted. "You mean when you _ditched_ me and hooked up with three girls, and I spent the rest of the night punching out every creepy-ass guy that tried to talk to me? At least the martinis were good."

Tomas held up a hand. "Wait. You didn't bang anyone?"

Kuai stopped, letting go of her suitcase. "No. I didn't 'bang' anyone," she said, using air quotes. "I am a virgin, Tomas. Always have been, genius." 

Tomas threw his hands in the air. "See?! That's another reason you need to get laid! Sex is great! Take it from me." Kuai gave him a deadpanned look. "And here I thought we had the fate of the world in our hands."

The two looked up at a sudden loud and blaring honk from a nearby parked car. The passenger window rolled down, revealing a familiar man with expensive eyewear. Kuai groaned. "Great. Of course, Cage is here to collect us."

* * *

"What is up, my dudes?!"

Cage exited the car, running over to the two Lin Kuei and hugged Tomas enthusiastically. "How's it going, Tomas? Nice look without the mask, by the way." Tomas smirked, shooting Kuai a look. "It is, isn't it?" Johnny stepped back, moving forward to do the same to Kuai. "Don't. Even think about it," Kuai said, holding up a hand. The change in temperature caused a mist to seep from her hand, a clear warning sign.

Johnny held his hands up in surrender. "Alright. Not a big fan of hugs. That's fine. Come on, let me get your bags in the trunk. Sonya's driving."

The two presented their bags to the ex-actor, sitting in the backseats. Sonya turned around, smiling in a friendly manner. "Welcome back."

Tomas grinned. "Well, I sure feel welcome. What have you been doing for the past three years?"

Sonya whistled, eyes drifting off in thought. "It'd take a long time to tell, and I'm sure you're both feeling pretty out of it right now. We can all share stories when we get back to our base."

Johnny loudly entered in, "All done!" Kuai winced at the outburst, cupping her ears with her hands. "Great. Can we go?"

Thankfully, the car ride proceeded as peaceful as it could be, with Johnny still talking about himself. Just when Kuai was about to either jump out the car or kill Johnny with her own two hands, the car came to a gradual stop, and Sonya put the gear into park. "Alright, we're here. Just a walk up the hill and we can go inside."

The four stepped out, walking up the asphalt slope. The place was surrounded by a dense forest, heavily isolated, and when they had reached the top, they faced an impressive mansion of immense size. Johnny smirked proudly.

"Welcome to _mi casa._ Home of the Cage," he said, bowing and giving a flourish with his hands. Tomas gaped. "This is your house?"

Sonya snorted. "As it is with stuck-up Hollywood people. Come on, I'll show you your rooms."

Ignoring Johnny's complaint ( _"What do you mean, 'stuck-up'?!"),_ Kuai followed Sonya to the double front doors and there, the Special Forces soldier knocked on the door three times.

The doors opened, revealing Raiden himself. He smiled warmly, gazing upon the newcomers. "Welcome, Smoke and Sub-Zero. Or do you prefer the title of Grandmaster?"

"Just Sub-Zero is fine," Kuai quickly cut in. Sonya and Johnny shared a confused look before Raiden ushered them all inside. The sun was beginning to set, the sky adopting hues of red and yellow.

After a short yet detailed tour of the place and a look at the backyard where the kombatants could practice (with a giant lake to enhance the scenery), Tomas and Kuai were brought upstairs to their rooms, which were right next door to each other. Their rooms were at the end of the hallway of rooms, yet there was one empty room in the very back end of the hallway whose door remained locked.

Kuai didn't take notice, however, entering her room next-door to Tomas' and threw her suitcase on the floor, jumping into the bed. She groaned in content, feeling the day's weariness taking over her. She roused herself before she could drift off to sleep, however, and started to unpack her belongings.

She was very neat and meticulous unlike Tomas and positioned everything the way she wanted to in her new living environment. After she had brought out everything from her bags and placed them in their intended spots, she sighed contently. _No need to worry about that in the morning, now._ She was about to shove the suitcase under her bed when she paused.

Pulling the suitcase back out, she sat with it on the ground and unzipped a secret compartment. She pulled from this pocket a small picture frame and a simple necklace of silver adorned with a single sapphire pendant, which was enveloped with a silver dragon. The necklace had been a gift from her old sensei, Hydro, who was one of the two people (Tomas was the other) who had known of her gender within the old Lin Kuei. It was dangerous to be a female in a clan of male assassins, yet she had managed to masquerade as one and deceived everyone, including her own brother who had never taken a full interest in her affairs.

Her sensei had always encouraged her to be herself and was supportive of her no matter what. In a way, he had been sort of a father for her.

She unclasped the necklace and wrapped it around her neck, closing the clasp again. Kuai held the pendant with the dragon guarding it in her palm, holding it under the light. She then pulled out the picture frame, studying it with a fond smile on her face.

It had been one of Tomas' birthdays (the 7th, 8th?), and Hydro had taken the image of herself, Tomas, and Bi-Han in one of his good days. The three of them stood with smiles on their faces, all looking into the camera. Kuai smiled, standing up to place the image on her nightstand. Now feeling satisfied, she dressed into comfortable clothing and pulled the covers up.

Despite the comfort of the room and bed, Kuai found that she could not sleep, and was racked with apprehension about what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

"Man, I don't know about you, but I slept like a baby last night!" Tomas said.

Kuai was a little drowsy, and _definitely_ not a morning person. "Good for you," she snapped grumpily. She went over to the kettle to pour herself a cup of tea. 

Tomas crossed his arms. "Okay. What crawled up your butt and died this morning?" Kuai waved a dismissive hand. "Fuck off, okay?"

"Oh, hello! We didn't see you yesterday."

The Lin Kuei in the kitchen turned around to face the newcomers. Kitana and Jade had woken up and were standing in the doorway. Jade waved hello shyly, while Kitana smiled with confidence. "Hello ladies," Tomas said, adopting his "flirty tone." Kuai struggled (and failed) to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "How are you doing this lovely morning?"

"Very well. And you, Lin Kuei warrior?" Jade asked, accommodating his antics. Tomas grinned, "Just peachy."

Behind the Edenians, the Shaolin monks walked down the stairs and made their way over to the forming group. "Sub-Zero. Smoke," Liu Kang greeted cordially. 

Kuai nodded respectfully to the Chosen One. "Liu Kang. It's good to see you."

One by one, the rest of the kombatants began to make their way downstairs until everyone had been seated at the dining table. They took turns sharing what had happened during the three years that they had seen each other. Surprisingly, most had managed to keep close contact with others.

Kuai quickly learned that Kitana had become the Empress of Outworld and what remained of Edenia, and she had ended up marrying Liu Kang, making him Emperor alongside her. They had ruled fairly and justly since. Johnny had officially joined the Special Forces, and with Sonya in command, they along with Jax and Kenshi had pursued the Black Dragon for quite some time, before the Red Dragon popped up on their radar. Kung Lao had remained at the Sky Temple with Raiden, overseeing the teachings of new students and protecting the Jinsei.

The Lin Kuei Grandmaster quickly explained the predicament that Sektor's Lin Kuei had presented and described how she and Tomas together had managed to bring down the cyberized clan. From there, they rebuilt from scratch, searching actively for recruits instead of kidnapping them like the old Lin Kuei would have done. 

Kuai hesitated, then pulled from her pants pocket the Dragon Medallion. She slid it on the table, pushing it to the middle. "Don't touch it," she warned. "The Medallion chooses who is worthy of wielding it and becomes the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. In the time I have had it... it has somehow managed to amplify my powers. I've been experimenting with a few things since then, but there's nothing too concrete yet in my practice."

"What happens if someone unworthy holds it?" Jax curiously asked.

Kuai crossed her arms, staying professional. "The person is encased in ice. Frozen solid. Tomas tried once, right?"

Tomas swatted her arm. "I just wanted to try holding it!"

Kuai punched him back, snatching back the trinket and stuffing it back in her pocket. "And despite my many warnings, you didn't listen. Why am I always surprised every time you don't listen to me?"

Before anyone else could utter a single word, a thunderclap sounded, and Raiden stepped into the house. "I have returned with our last two comrades," he said with a smile on his face.

From behind him, Kenshi entered the house, the signature red blindfold immediately identifying him. "Kenshi!" Tomas made his way over to him immediately, hugging him enthusiastically. The blind swordsman returned the gesture, patting the Lin Kuei's back. "Greetings, Smoke. No mask? Interesting." Tomas chuckled. "I still don't understand how you're able to 'see,' even with your many explanations." Kenshi nodded, a small smile on his face. "I'm glad to see that everyone has made it safely." He went upstairs to his room to unpack his belongings.

"You said two?" Kitana asked Raiden directly. Kuai saw the Thunder God's face drop for a slight moment, she and frowned in confusion. "About that," Raiden began but was cut off when said person entered.

Kuai stood up suddenly, along with the others seated at the table. She felt the blood leave her face, and her hands tightened into fists. Jax moved to stand in front of her as if to protect her, but she sidestepped him easily. Kuai cursed herself for leaving her weapons upstairs, but she had not expected to be attacked in the sanctuary.

Kuai moved as if to step forward to attack but then hesitated, glancing at Raiden. He had brought him here for a reason, most likely to help them. And while this option did not seem good in Kuai's perspective, she knew that she would not be helping things if she fought back, right?

She quickly formulated a new plan, looking at her surroundings. Now satisfied, she stepped forward in front of the others, despite their muted protests.

Scorpion, the Shirai Ryu Netherrealm wraith, glared hot embers at his one enemy in the room. "Sub-Zero," he growled. "Now you die!" Kuai countered back with a level-headed cool look. 

And then, she bolted from the room.

* * *

_Johnny's POV_

Johnny could not believe what he was seeing.

After he had recovered from the initial shock of seeing none other than _Scorpion_ himself walk through that door, Sub-Zero had run into the kitchen, where Scorpion had teleported after him. _Why didn't he confront him?_ As a loyal friend, Johnny had followed him, along with the other kombatants who were also worried about their friend's safety. 

In the kitchen and looking from the back of the crowd, Johnny watched as Sub-Zero had been backed into a corner. However, just as it seemed that Scorpion was closing in for the kill, Sub-Zero stood on the countertops and jumped over his pursuer, landing on the kitchen island and running outside through the backdoor. Scorpion quickly followed, and the kombatants did too.

Outside, Sub-Zero had dodged Scorpion's blows, blocking some and avoiding the rest. But it was clear to everyone that he could not keep this up any longer.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sub-Zero jumped backwards to avoid a downward sword strike from his rival and an exact replica of himself manifested in ice stood in his place. As soon as Scorpion's blade made contact with the ice statue, the ice _moved,_ eventually encasing the hellspawn in ice.

Sub-Zero sighed in relief, as Tomas made his way over to him. "I actually did not know if that was going to work," Johnny heard the cryomancer say.

Tomas patted his friend's back in comfort. "Thankfully, it did. Nice going, by the way."

* * *

_Back to Kuai's POV_

Raiden appeared from the fray, looking frazzled. "My apologies," he said. "I had intended Master Hasashi to wait outside before I introduced him to you."

Sonya glared at the Thunder God, strutting up to him and pressing her finger into his chest. "You have some explaining to do, mister. Why the hell would you bring him here? And with Sub-Zero here, too! That bastard killed his brother!"

Raiden sighed. "I am sorry. Shortly after Shao Kahn's attempted invasion, Scorpion had approached me. He pleaded for me to give him another chance to redeem himself and bring back his family, and so I have enlisted his aid for a time being until he proves himself. I have temporarily made him human, as a down payment of sorts. He will only be referred to as Hanzo Hasashi from now on."

Sonya crossed her arm, still discontent. "And what about Sub-Zero? Are you going to bring his brother back?" 

Raiden bowed his head. "I am unable to do so. His soul has moved far from my reach. I can not bring Bi-Han back."

At those words, Kuai felt her heart shatter. She stared downcast and dejected to the ground and felt Tomas place his arm around her shoulder in comfort.

"What is this threat that you have summoned us here for, Raiden?" Kuai asked, looking up.

Raiden visibly tensed, nodding slowly. "Let us go inside."


	2. I Hate Your Guts, and You Hate Mine (what else has changed?)

In freeing himself from the ice and falling to the ground, Scorpion's ( _or Hanzo's, whatever_ _)_ cowl had been swept back, revealing raven hair tied back in a traditional Japanese-style bun and a well-chiseled face. Upon seeing the glare, Kuai turned away, not bothering to give him a second of her time. _That is the way to keep things civil and tolerable, these next three months. Just ignore the problem._ She left him on the ground, following the others inside to discuss why they were here.

With all the kombatants seated at the dining table, Raiden stood up at one end and addressed everyone. "Thank you all for coming. This situation that has befallen us is of utmost importance, and I would not have called you here had it been any less dire. I have received word from the Elder Gods themselves that something has been stirring in the Netherrealm. Quan Chi, the necromancer who served under Shao Kahn for a time and disappeared, has been secretly growing an army. A legion would be a more befitting term. Alongside him is a shadow wraith, the commander of his armies. He is only known as Noob Saibot."

Johnny leaned away from Sonya over to Kenshi and Jax, whispering, "Noob? I don't even have to try to make fun of the guy's name. It does it for me!"

Raiden continued, oblivious to Johnny's comment. "This shadow wraith is not to be ignored. He is very powerful, more powerful than Quan Chi himself. It appears that this wraith has consumed the souls of the living and prevented them from crossing to the afterlife. We must prepare for this inevitable conflict, to protect the innocents in the realms."

"When can we expect this fight, Lord Raiden?" Liu Kang asked.

"Time in the Netherrealm passes by much slower than in our realms, which works in our favor. We may have three to four months to prepare ourselves. Do not waste this time. Practice with one another. Maintain and forge strong bonds, despite your differences, and know that you were all brought here for a reason," Raiden said, looking pointedly at Hasashi. The man turned to the side and crossed his arms, and Kuai turned away, rolling her eyes. _Like a man-child..._

"I wish you all well in your training. I will further consult the Elder Gods and remain at the Sky Temple to gather my strength in the Jinsei Chamber. I will see you in three months' time, and remember: remain civil," Raiden said in finality. He lifted a hand to the sky, about to leave, but remembered something.

"I have almost forgotten. There is another that will be joining you. I managed to revive him and save him from his former self, freeing him from the metal. Cyrax, as you knew him in your early lives, will be arriving later today," Raiden said, smiling gently at an astonished Kuai and Tomas. "I am sorry that I could not do the same for your brother," the Thunder God consoled, and in a flash of blue lightning, he disappeared.

Johnny coughed, trying to wave the burning smell away. "God, could he do that shit outside?"

* * *

Kuai was still reeling from the information that Raiden had presented to her and Tomas. They shared a quick glance, happiness evident in each others' eyes. Tomas placed his hand on her back. "He's alive," he whispered. Kuai nodded, still recovering from the shock of it all.

And then, all hell broke loose.

"You stay the hell away from us, demon!" Sonya hissed at Scorpion. She had stood up abruptly, slamming her hands onto the table.

Kenshi looked around. "What the hell did I miss?"

Jax patted his friend's back. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."

The accused ex-hellspawn met the female soldier's challenge, standing up as well and trying to make seem himself as threatening as possible. "You do not dictate my decisions, _General."_

Kitana leaned to her husband, pulling at his hand. "Do something," she muttered under her breath.

Liu Kang stood up slowly to do as Kitana had asked, holding his hands up for peace. "Let us calm down and heed Raiden's advice. We are in a difficult situation, and fighting amongst ourselves will get us nowhere."

Unfortunately, no one seemed to listen.

Hasashi then turned to Kuai again, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "Last we fought, you were eager to engage in kombat with me. Now, you flee from the fight like a coward? You have less honor than even your brother!"

Kuai found that she could not keep her dismissive stance after that. She stood up slowly, unlike the others who had risen before her, the gesture speaking calculated coldness. "If you _ever_ mention my brother again, I will cut out your tongue, you murderous snake! The Lin Kuei may have been complicit in your clan's demise, but I remained ignorant of these developments under the old Grandmaster!"

Tomas rose behind her, offering her support. Jade watched on, raptured with the details. "Then the Lin Kuei then _were_ responsible for the Shirai Ryu's demise?" the emerald assassin asked in a quiet tone.

Kuai looked down at her with painful eyes. "Unfortunately, it appears so. After I had defeated Sektor, I uploaded his memory files to see what had happened in Tomas' and my absence. I found Sektor reaching out to Quan Chi himself, agreeing to wipe out the Shirai Ryu for the Lin Kuei's aid. Sektor ultimately betrayed Quan Chi in the end, but the main point is," Kuai said, turning her attention back to Hasashi. "The sorcerer killed your family so that he could drive you to your rage and make you Scorpion. A loyal pet to use at his every beck and call."

The yellow-clad warrior leaped at Kuai in a sudden burst of fire and fury. "You lie, cheap Lin Kuei bastard!"

Before his fist could connect with her face, a green ball of energy connected with the aggressor's chest, throwing him off track and forcing him to fall to the ground. Cage, of all people, had come to Kuai's rescue. 

"Yeah. Don't try that again," the ex-actor said, standing up beside Sonya.

The act of maturity briefly surprised Kuai. _Maybe I've had this guy wrong from the beginning._

Kuai was then brought back to the gravity of the situation and shook her head briefly to clear her thoughts. "Wait. This is getting us nowhere. We are wasting time!"

Liu Kang huffed. "That's what I was _trying_ to say."

"It seems that we may be in need of a system," Kenshi piped up, one of the few still seated. "To keep the peace and balance. We should implement group activities. It could even be social outings, just to improve and solidify team connections. And we must establish rules. No violence outside of _friendly_ sparring should be our first, I believe," he said, turning pointedly at Kuai and Hasashi.

"But most important of all," the blind swordsman continued, "we should implement a leader. Someone to monitor us and check on our progress. Someone _unbiased,_ so that no one is treated unequally."

Tomas huffed. "Well, that's an easy answer. I nominate Liu Kang as our leader."

Kuai immediately approved, thankful that Tomas had the sense to do so. The Shaolin monk seemed taken aback, before composing himself and smiling generously. "If I am approved, I would be happy to accept this position," the Champion said.

"If there are no objections," Kung Lao asked, scanning the crowd for any protests before continuing, "then Liu Kang is our leader and supervisor."

Liu Kang nodded, getting right into business. "Alright. Everyone take a seat, and we can begin by building a weekly schedule." Upon hearing these words, Jade pulled to her a notepad that was resting on the edge of the table, clicking the pen. "Kenshi, you can be in charge of coming up with those team-building exercises, since you brought the idea up in the first place. These will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Run the activities for the week in the week before so that I can confirm them," Liu Kang began.

Kenshi nodded in confirmation. "Got it."

Liu Kang nodded, turning to the others. "We will have Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays as dedicated practice days. We will be spending most of the day training outside, and we can also do certain team-based kombat 'games' of sorts in the woods. Maybe the first team to eliminate all other opponents wins?"

Tomas perked up with interest. "In the Lin Kuei, Sub-Zero and I would do such games with the older pupils. Our favorite was Capture the Flag." Kuai nodded thoughtfully, smiling behind her mask and reminiscing on those fun days.

Liu Kang smiled at Tomas' input. "Then you two can organize those events. We can have these once a week, maybe on Thursdays?" he asked, scanning the table and receiving nods of assent. "Okay. And then that leaves Saturdays for a break." The Shaolin frowned. "Wait. I should have been writing this down," he said in realization.

Kitana giggled at her husband's expense. "Don't worry, Liu Kang. Jade thought of this and has been writing everything that we have discussed."

The monk gave her a thankful and relieved look. "Thank you, Jade." She nodded back with a gentle smile in return.

"I would have made a damn fine leader," Cage grumbled with fake-annoyance, receiving an elbow in the ribs (courtesy of Sonya Blade), and Kuai suppressed a grin, despite the fact that she was wearing her mask. She was secretly thankful for Cage's humorous bit (not that she'd admit it). She felt that she was going to need more of that humor as the weeks progressed, casting a quick glance at Hasashi, who had not removed his accusatory glare from her during the entirety of the discussion.

She sighed in resignation. _He's alive now, but what else has really changed?_

* * *

Despite it being a Tuesday, Liu Kang allowed them to rest since they had not efficiently planned events for the day.

Tomas and Kuai had gotten a layout of the forest thanks to Johnny's blueprints he had of the house's construction and were in Kuai's room devising certain team-based kombat games for the others. Kuai had chosen to wear the same hoodie that she had worn in the airport yesterday, the hood pulled back to let her long hair loose. Tomas sat on the floor with his back leaning against the edge of the bed while Kuai lay on her stomach on the bed and peered over Tomas' shoulder. The blueprints lay flat on the ground.

"Okay. Two teams-" Tomas began.

"Let's make it three," she cut in, examining the layout of the forestry. "I can see three _great_ points of defense, and this way, it adds another level to the game. More things to worry about," she said, looking down at Tomas' face.

He huffed, nodding in resignation. "Fine. _Three_ teams." Kuai scribed it in her own notepad, the page labeled, "Capture the Flag Rules" at the top in her neat handwriting.

"You know, I can see why everyone thinks you're a guy," Tomas butted in. Kuai jerked up, checking to see that they had locked the door before smacking Tomas on the head with the notepad. "Idiot!" she hissed. "What if someone heard that?" Tomas rubbed his head. "Ouch! The walls are soundproof. Trust me, I checked. I banged on my walls this morning, and you didn't even wake up."

Kuai settled back into comfort. She knew that she was a light sleeper and the slightest movement or sound would have stirred her from a deep sleep. 

"Your mask muffled your voice and deepens it somehow, too," Tomas continued. "It was the strangest thing. I didn't even notice it before!"

Kuai rolled her eyes, choosing to not remove the mask. _Several people here can teleport... I can't risk it._ "Whatever, you baby. What colors should we make the teams?"

Tomas counted off his fingers. "Team Blue, Team Red, and Team Green."

Kuai raised a brow. "What, no yellow?"

Tomas shuddered. "Ugh. Can't stand it. Reminds me of a certain someone; no offense to our beloved friend, Cyrax, of course."

Kuai laughed, not bothering to hide it since no one else was around. "Same. But that idiot might see it as an offense, you know. And believe me, the last thing we need is another reason to fight."

The enenra groaned in frustration. "Fine! Just pick some random colors. Green, purple, and orange."

The cryomancer's nose wrinkled in distaste. "Ew. That's the worst color scheme ever, Tomas. Let's just do Team Blue, Team Red, and Team Yellow. Primary colors. Each team has four people."

Tomas sighed in defeat. "Fine. That asshole has ruined that color for me, I'm telling you. Even the fact that our best friend has the same colors does nothing to lessen my hatred for it."

Kuai smirked, quickly writing the details into the paper before she forgot. "Child."

* * *

Once Kuai was satisfied, she and Tomas left the comfort and safety of her room to go downstairs and grab a snack from the kitchen. There, they ran into Kung Lao and Kenshi who had the same agenda.

"Sub-Zero. Smoke," Kung Lao greeted respectfully. 

Kenshi placed a hand on Kuai's upper arm. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. "With everything that's happened today, you must be feeling confused."

Kuai sighed, nodding slightly. "I'll be okay," she said. "We've dealt with worse."

At that moment, a knock resounded from the front door, and Kuai walked over to open them. She was greeted with the sight of someone she thought that she would never see again.

"Cyrax," she breathed out, a smile growing from behind her mask. 

The man in a familiar yellow t-shirt grinned widely, letting his bags drop and opening his arms for Kuai to hug him. She blinked back tears, laughing happily. "I thought I was never going to see you again," she rasped out. He chuckled with his deep voice. "I've missed you too, Kuai Liang."

Tomas came running up after Kuai had stepped away, tackling his comrade to the ground. "Cyrax!" Tomas exclaimed, throwing in a few playful punches. The pinned man laughed, pushing Tomas off of him with ease. "Get off of me, you big oaf," he chortled.

The three Lin Kuei went back inside, talking amongst one another. "Raiden has told me about everything that has transpired," Cyrax said. "Is it true that you are now Grandmaster?"

Kuai nodded, walking with her friends upstairs. "Yes. Tomas and I overthrew and killed Sektor, who had killed his own father and taken over the Lin Kuei. We rebuilt the clan together."

They entered Cyrax's bedroom, which was conveniently located across from Kuai's room (Tomas' room was to the left of hers, and to the right was the empty end-of-the-hall bedroom). Kuai closed and locked the room, then went to help Cyrax with his bags. "There's something I should warn you about," she started. Cyrax looked up at her curiously.

Taking a deep breath, Kuai continued. "There are two things. Do you remember Scorpion from the tournament?" Cyrax shuddered, lips curling downward with distaste. "How could I not? That monster took Bi-Han to the Netherrealm and returned with his bones." He looked up, seeing Kuai's face. "Sorry," he winced.

Kuai waved him off. "It's alright. The thing is, Raiden struck a bargain with him. He brought him to life and promised to revive his clan if Scorpion helped Earthrealm. And with this conflict-"

"-he's here, too," Cyrax finished, catching on quickly, eyes widening with shock and disbelief. "You can't be serious. Scorpion, human now and helping Earthrealm?"

Tomas frowned, crossing his arms. "We're not happy about it, either. He already tried to attack Kuai this morning, but we've now settled into a fragile truce of no violence. And with you here now, another Lin Kuei warrior, he'll only be more... dissatisfied."

Cyrax sighed, nodding. "Great. So, just remember to keep my distance from him and don't piss him off. What was the other thing?" he asked, looking back at Kuai.

The cryomancer shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, steeling herself. "In the old days of the Lin Kuei, the Grandmaster did not tolerate female warriors because he thought they were weaker and inferior to men. In this new age of the Lin Kuei, I have changed much of the Lin Kuei's practices. We do not proactively attack; we are an institution dedicated to the protection of Earthrealm. I have also included the enlistment of female soldiers."

Cyrax nodded, not understanding where she was going. Kuai sighed briefly before continuing. "With the Grandmaster dead and with him the old Lin Kuei, I thought it best to push aside all forms of deceit. Cyrax... I am a woman," she confessed, head hung low in anticipation of an outburst.

Nothing happened for a few moments.

And then, much to her surprise, he embraced her gently. "I'm so sorry you had to hide yourself, Kuai," he said softly. "Thank you for being truthful to me. I assume the others do not know?"

She did not respond, instead opting to shake her head.

Cyrax continued. "I will keep your secret until you decide to tell them, then," he promised. "Female or male, Kuai Liang, you are not any less courageous or strong. You will make a good Grandmaster. Perhaps the best in our Lin Kuei history," he surmised. 

Kuai let the tears of relief and happiness run down her face, allowing herself this one moment of weakness. "Thank you, Cyrax."

She stepped back, pulling down her hood and removing her mask. Cyrax smiled, nodding in approval. "You look good," he complimented. 

Tomas groaned. "That's what I've been _saying!_ But she doesn't want to be in a relationship!" He moved closer to Cyrax, a smirk on his face. "Do you want to take her out on a date?"

Kuai glared at the enenra. "Tomas!"

Cyrax laughed, shoving Tomas away from him. "You wish. She's not my type, though. No offense, Kuai."

She huffed in amusement upon looking at Tomas' downcast and dejected face. "None taken."

* * *

The Lin Kuei stayed in their room, making conversation until there was a knock on the door. Cyrax got up to answer and opened it to reveal Jax.

The man with the metal arms extended a hand in greeting, which Cyrax accepted. "Name's Jax. Jackson Briggs, but just call me Jax, or I'll have to pummel you into next week."

Cyrax grinned cheekily, nodding. "I'm Cyrax. A Lin Kuei brother of these two," he replied, beckoning behind him.

Jax winced. "Man, you're Lin Kuei, too?" Cyrax nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I am. And if Scorpion has a problem with that, he can take it up with me," he stated bluntly, leaving no room for argument. 

Kuai went to the door, joining the conversation. "Did you want us for something, Jax?"

The military man nodded. "Yeah. Dinner's going on downstairs. We all have to do everything together, it seems." He turned to Cyrax briefly. "Scorpion wants to be called by his real name, Hanzo Hasashi. Kung Lao forgot that, and three people had to hold Hanzo back from killing him, with Kenshi keeping him still with his powers."

"Telekinesis," Kuai whispered to a confused Cyrax.

The Lin Kuei followed Jax downstairs to the dining table where most of the kombatants had congregated. They began to sit down next to each other when Liu Kang stopped them. "Sorry," he began, wincing sympathetically, "but with the tension between you and Hanzo Hasashi, we thought it best to seat you two together."

Kuai shut her eyes in dread, as Tomas began to protest. "Why not all of us with Scorpion, then?!"

Liu Kang sighed. "He's only got troubles with Sub-Zero. He doesn't seem to care about the two of you; it seems to be like a rivalry grudge, in a sense." He looked at Kuai. "I'm sorry." 

Cyrax quickly held him back. "That will be fine," Cyrax stated, before allowing Liu Kang to lead each of them to their seats. Tomas glared at Cyrax. "You might as well have just killed Kuai, Cyrax! Who do you think Liu Kang is going to put next to her?" he whispered under his breath so that no one else could hear.

Cyrax grimaced. "I know, Tomas. But Kuai knew as well, and she has already emphasized the necessity of keeping the peace. It starts with small steps, starting with this."

Since the specialized seating only applied to Kuai, Cyrax was free to sit next to Tomas, whilst Kuai sat far away from her friends. She looked down the table's length, catching sight of them. "It's fine, Tomas," she said, trying to console him. He huffed.

 **"What are you going to do about eating? You have to take off your mask."** (Spoken in Chinese)

Kuai waved him off. **"I'll just say that I don't get hungry until later, and then I can take it up to my room. I've already talked with Sonya; don't worry. I've got it all worked out."**

Cyrax shook his head. **"I admire you for your drive to keep this a secret."**

Kuai frowned. **"I'm going to tell them eventually. Just when I get more comfortable with telling them. I nearly passed out opening up to you, you know?"**

Tomas nodded. **"It's alright. Just take your time. We'll be here to support you."**

The couples sat next to each other and friends filled the spaces. The ends of the tables remained empty to reinforce the bonding process. Kuai, who was seated at the second seat away from one edge of the table, smiled as Jade took the seat to her left. They gave short yet pleasant greetings, before Kuai's smile disappeared at the sight of the last person.

Hanzo Hasashi, maskless, walked forward with heavy footfalls to his seat, dragging the chair to Kuai's right (at the edge of the table) across the floor loudly and dropping like a stone into the seat. He ignored Kuai completely, which was very welcome when compared to the constant glaring-

_Oh, nevermind. There it is, again. **Great**._

With everybody seated, Liu Kang stood up to address everyone cheerfully. "Welcome to our first dinner as a team, everybody. No one will leave the table until everyone has told us what has happened in their lives the past three years after Shao Kahn's defeat. Even if you have already told this to most of us, please repeat it for the newcomers. Thank you, and let us eat." He sat back down, gesturing Sonya to start the conversation.

Kuai droned out of the conversation, drifting off in deep thought. _How far we have all come. I was once a simple novice in the Lin Kuei, my only aspirations being to please the Grandmaster and live up to my brother's harsh expectations. Now, I am the Grandmaster. How long ago it all seems!_

**"Stop that."**

Kuai was jolted from her thoughts at the deep voice that had hissed at her. She looked up and around to scan the faces of her friends to see who had spoken but did not see anyone facing her. She then received a kick under the table from her right, and she turned to glare at Hasashi. 

Sitting slightly taller than her, representative of their standing heights, he glared back down at her. "Stop your ice, idiot," he snapped under his breath, gesturing at the floor between the legs of their chairs.

Kuai quickly glanced down, noticing that in her daydreaming ice had extended from her feet and spread out across the floor. Frowning, she realized that the powers of the Medallion had gone unchecked. _I underestimated its powers, yet again. I need to keep myself in check!_

She decided to take this opportunity to draw the ice back to her, and much to her surprise, the ice crept along the floor and disappeared under the sole of her white sneakers. She looked up again, glaring back to Hasashi. 

"Is that better, Princess?" she asked sarcastically.

His glare somehow intensified, mouth curling into a sneer. "Don't do that again." He turned his attention back to his plate, and Kuai turned away to return to the conversation since she didn't have a plate to look down at.

At this point in time, Cyrax was introducing himself. Upon the mention that he was Lin Kuei and had trained alongside Sub-Zero and Smoke, Hasashi scoffed scornfully. "As if that is something to be proud of," he muttered. Kuai, sitting next to him, heard the remark, and it took everything in her power not to freeze his mouth shut.

_Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it..._

She listened as Cyrax finished, moving down to Kenshi, who described his search for the Red Dragon with the Special Forces, revealing his reasons for aiding Sonya. His wife, Suchin, had been killed by Red Dragon, and he sought vengeance for her death. 

Kuai sympathized with him, remembering Bi-Han and his killer sitting next to her. She shifted self-consciously away from the said murderer, thinking back on her relationship with her brother. In the beginning, they had been close. But after Bi-Han's tenth birthday, things had changed. He was no longer the same supporting and loving brother she had thought him to be. 

_Yes, the tenth birthday. When all Lin Kuei children were sent on their first "mission"..._

* * *

**_A Lifetime Ago..._ **

_Kuai Liang, seven years old at the time, was pacing the bedroom that she and her older brother shared._

_He had been away for nearly ten hours on his mission, which was located in the nearby village. He had assured her before he left that it would be quick and that he would return soon._

_By now, the sun had set, and she was getting more and more anxious within each set of ten minutes that ticked by._

_"Where is he?" she had muttered._

_Then, as if the Elder Gods themselves had answered her call, the bedroom door had slammed opened, and there stood Bi-Han himself, in all his bloody glory. Literally. He had not bothered to wash off the blood of the slaughtered, choosing instead to wear it like a badge of triumph._

_Kuai's eyes had widened. Beforehand, the two of them had spent nights discussing their escape from the Lin Kuei and how they would find their parents and live "happily ever after" again. He had been sickened at the thought of killing an innocent._

_And yet, there he had stood._

_Thinking that he was in shock, Kuai decided to test the waters and had cautiously approached her brother, who had already made his way to his bed and was taking off his boots. "So, now that you know how to fight," she tried, attempting a joke, "you can teach me and we can get out of here, right?"_

_He had stopped._

**_He had said nothing._ **

_And yet, Kuai had not picked up on this._

_She continued, trying to encourage him to speak. "Are you okay, Bi-Han?"_

_And then, it happened. The thing that Bi-Han did that Kuai Liang would always remember as the day that her brother had died, and had been replaced with another Lin Kuei assassin. The moment where she had lost a brother and was left alone in this cruel and grueling world._

_He stood up, towering over her, and punched her in the face._

_Kuai Liang had felt her head snap back from the force of the blow, and fell to the ground in a daze of shock and pain. She looked up through tear-stained eyes, letting the tears run down her face. "Why did you do that?" she whimpered._

_His face was something she would never forget. His jawline was set, teeth clenched, displaying his anger and coldness. His nostrils flared, but it was the eyes; those once comforting, caring eyes that Kuai would look into in times of stress and sadness and would take all those feelings away. Those eyes had been replaced by dark ones, dark, harsh eyes like black smooth pebbles that never reflected any light. Before, his eyes had spoken security and love._

_But these eyes promised pain._

_And for the first time in her life, Kuai Liang was **afraid** of her brother._

_"We are not brothers," he had said. His face looked down at her in disgust. "If you ever want to redeem yourself and call yourself my brother again, you can start by participating in the clan's practices. You **will** kill. You will **obey.** And if I catch you doing otherwise, I **will** tell the Grandmaster."_

_He turned away, pausing. "And stop crying. You look pathetically weak."_

_And with that, he left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Kuai Liang stayed on the ground, and curled in on herself, hugging her knees close to her chest and sobbed._

**_That night, she had been introduced to Sub-_ **

* * *

"-Zero?"

Kuai's head snapped up, putting herself back in the present. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just got lost in a memory."

"Ah," Kung Lao said, nodding. "A good one?"

"... It was of my childhood," Kuai replied.

Technically, she didn't _lie_.

Jade gently nudged her. "We had gotten to you, now," she explained gently.

Kuai blinked. "Oh. Well, like had Tomas said, we overthrew Sektor, wiped out the Cyber Lin Kuei, and rebuilt our clan. There's nothing more to add."

Kitana perked her head in thought. "Well, perhaps you could elaborate on one of your accomplishments?"

Sonya cut in. "Hey, tell us about your fight with Sektor. What happened?"

Kuai tensed up. "Tomas and I had snuck in from the secret passageways below the Lin Kuei complex. We had discovered them when we were young, mischevious children and no one else had realized that they were there. We entered the kitchens, where we quickly and discreetly made our way to the throne room, where we were sure that Sektor would be. Sure enough, we found him, breaking through the doors and attacking him, trying to bring him down as quickly as we could. We didn't have a formatted plan, to begin with."

"But then, more and more Cyber Lin Kuei stormed into the room, and then it was Tomas and me trying to fend off the Cybers while attacking Sektor. We were eventually restrained despite our attempts, and Sektor was about to give the command to execute us when I put his honor into question. I had told him that in killing up without a fair trial by Kombat, his clan had no honor. And so, I was able to face him one-on-one."

"He had put up a good fight, but I was able to eventually overpower him, and after I had relieved him of his head, the Cybers all around us fell to the ground. It turns out that they were all connected to his neural network, following his every command. And then, it was only me and Tomas in the Lin Kuei temple," Kuai finished.

Kenshi nodded with respect. "It is a good thing that you were able to defeat Sektor and his Cyber Lin Kuei. They would have most likely terrorized Earthrealm and added to our current problems. The Lin Kuei will definitely be able to redeem themselves with you as Grandmaster."

To her right in her peripheral vision, Kuai noted that Hasashi had looked up from his plate upon hearing Kenshi's words. "What do you mean, _Grandmaster_?" he growled.

Tomas spoke up, voice containing a scornful tilt, "Grandmaster Sub-Zero is _Grandmaster_ of the Lin Kuei. He oversees the everyday functions of the clan and ensures that the pupils are receiving the proper instruction. You know, like _any_ type of Grandmaster."

Kuai mentally face-palmed herself. _Damn it, Tomas!_

As expected, Scorpion had quickly stood up and quickly made his way towards Tomas, who had stood up himself and turned around to face his opponent.

Kuai cursed under her breath and followed after Hasashi, putting herself between the two. "Stop it, the two of you," she said firmly.

"If you think that I will not strike you down alongside your friend," Hasashi snarled, "you are clearly delusional, Sub-Zero."

"Let me at him, Kuai!" Tomas shouted, bringing his fists into the air. "I can take him on. _Easy."_

Kuai whirled around, turning on Tomas. "Shut up!" she snapped.

The room fell silent.

"Think, you idiot! Why would I run from Scorpion, try to ignore him, and not instigate any conflict? This war is bigger than any other issue you have with him. Grow. Up! The Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu rivalry is a thing of the past. Forget it, okay?" she shouted.

Tomas protested. "But he killed your brother!"

Kuai sighed, lowering her arms from barring the two men from each other. "Tomas... let's face it. Bi-Han was an asshole."

Both he and Hasashi reeled back in confusion and shock from her declaration. "What?!" Cyrax asked, incredulous, standing up behind Tomas. "But you _idolized_ him! You said you wanted to be just like him!"

Kuai let out a frustrated sigh, shutting her eyes tight. "I know! But he'd always belittle me and tell me I wasn't doing enough. I idolized the brother he used to be, not him as Sub-Zero. He was a cruel and heartless monster who didn't care about anything else except for the mission," she spat out.

Johnny whistled from the sidelines. "Man! And I thought my life was shitty," he laughed. 

Kuai trained her concentration (and a glare) on Johnny. "Shut up, Johnny," she growled.

He cowed away in fear.

Tomas slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to be blind to not notice the looks he gave you. I'm sorry, Kuai," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled back, nodding. "It's okay. But we need to stop fighting with each other," she continued, "or Quan Chi will kill us and take over Earthrealm."

With the fight avoided, Kuai sighed, the tension starting to leave her shoulders. "I'm going to go for a walk," she said, walking out the front door and closing it behind her gently.

* * *

Squinting to force her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night, she began to follow the trail leading through the woods, the trees' leavy canopies filtering the moonlight seeping in.

And yet, the moon's rays could only afford so much lighting, and the passerby in the woods failed to notice someone watching her from above, an inky shadow concealed in the branches.

Kuai felt uneasy and turned around to look up into the same tree where the figure had once been crouching. She would have been able to catch it, had she turned a moment earlier.

But the figure had disappeared into a pocket of darkness, returning to the fiery depths where he had been remade, back to his "master."

Kuai shrugged the feeling off as paranoia and continued on her walk through the winding stony path.


	3. Bitter Enemies 'Till the End (prepare to die)

Walking into a clearing of the forest with a small marble fountain in the center, Kuai sighed, watching her cold breath float upward in the warm Los Angeles weather.

She strolled forward to the fountain, admiring the mermaid centerpiece before sitting down on the edge, careful not to get wet from the splashing water. She closed her eyes, breathing evenly and taking part in her meditating practices that she routinely did to clear her mind.

She had told not only Tomas or Cyrax but _everyone_ at the dining table about her relationship with Bi-Han. She ought to feel ashamed for placing her brother in such a bad light, but strangely, she didn't feel remorseful. On the contrary, she felt much lighter after confessing what had actually happened in her childhood.

_Because he was manipulative and didn't care about you. That was the truth, and all you did was tell the truth._

Kuai sighed, leaning forward slightly and clasping her hands together. She had only told the truth, and there was nothing to regret about that. Bi-Han stopped caring for her, stopped looking out for her after that night.

And with her survival today, she had proved him (in spirit) that she didn't need his support. She relaxed her muscles and closed her eyes, basking in the peace that solitude provided her and in the sounds of the forest critters active at night.

Unfortunately, even this simple peace would not last.

With the snap of a nearby twig on the ground, Kuai's eyes snapped open on reflex. She stood up slowly, scanning the brush around her. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. "Tomas? Is that you?" She walked closer to investigate the source of the sound, instantly reminded of a scene in a horror movie that she and Tomas had watched recently after rebuilding the Lin Kuei (they had never watched a movie before in their lives).

Pausing slightly, she formed a long blade of ice, hacking away at the brush and braced for an attack.

No one was there.

Refusing to let her guard down in light of her earlier feelings of apprehension, Kuai scanned her surroundings, attempting to pick up on the slightest movement.

Still, nothing.

And then, from the darkness, Kuai felt a wave of heat on her back, and ducked immediately, feeling something cut her cheek and impale a nearby tree. Kuai whirled around, following the path of the familiar deadly chain to its wielder.

”Hanzo Hasashi,” she ground out between clenched teeth, holding a hand to cover the cut on her cheek and yet still trying to be civil.

With his hood pulled over his head and a mask covering the lower half of his face, the former specter’s eyes burned bright. Kuai could see the fires ignited in his pupils, a fire of rage and pain.

_*Chuckles* I'm in danger._

Thinking quickly, Kuai ran to the fountain, scooping up a handful of water and flinging it at Scorpion, the water freezing midair and becoming an icicle projectile. He raised a hand, fire erupting from his palm and melting the ice back to its liquid form. He charged at her, sword raised.

Kuai panicked upon seeing the charge, and jumped up on the edge of the fountain, propelling herself into a backflip over Scorpion. She knew that she had to get back to the others; she was clearly at a serious disadvantage and needed help. Now behind Scorpion, she flung an ice-ball behind her blindly, hoping that it would strike the intended target and sprinted back to the house.

She had just touched the trees on the edge of the clearing, hoping that she was safe, until Kuai felt a sharp pain erupt from her right shoulder.

**”Get over here!”**

_Shit._

Kuai was yanked back with the kunai to where Scorpion stood next to the fountain, falling to the ground. She had run out of precious time and scrambled on the ground to get away from her attacker, pressing her back against the marble structure. 

She stopped moving when she felt the cold metal blade pushed against her throat. Kuai could not breathe; she did not dare. 

Standing above her menacingly, Scorpion glared down at her. “Running away, again?” He stepped down on her right knee, and she cried out in pain as she felt the kneecap dislocate and the tibia break. “You make a poor Grandmaster, Sub-Zero,” he mocked. “Any last words?”

She gasped slightly as the blade started to dig into her esophagus. “Did nothing I say about my brother resonate with you? I have no quarrel with you anymore, Ha-“

” **Do not say that name!** Only my family has the right to, Lin Kuei dog. The family that your clan murdered!”

Kuai shut her eyes, heart beating in her ears. “I know, Scorpion. But you have to believe me when I say that only Sektor and the Grandmaster made the agreements with Quan Chi; the rest of the Lin Kuei are innocent!”

Scorpion snarled. “I would be a fool to trust any Lin Kuei! You mean to lower my guard and betray my trust.” He pressed the blade deeper into Kuai’s throat, and she felt a slow line of blood falling down to her chest. “I will wipe out your pathetic clan to inflict the same pain that was inflicted on me!”

Kuai felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head. “You will not touch my friends,” she rasped, daring the situation. “You may kill me, but if you lay a hand on Tomas or Cyrax, I will find a way to come back from the dead to kill you in turn.”

Scorpion chuckled darkly. “You are in no position to make any demands here, Sub-Zero. After I kill you, your friends are next, followed by your entire clan. You have failed your clan.” He drew back his blade, intending to swing down at her neck to decapitate her.

But Kuai was done negotiating after that. His taunts of her friends and of her clan ignited a fury within her; not one like a blazing fire, but of a raging tidal wave or tsunami. She left the waves crash over her in anger, roaring out as the blade swung down.

Suddenly, the water from the fountain behind her lifted into the air and dove at Scorpion, extinguishing the building flames on his blade and encasing him in a prison. Then, the water froze, trapping Scorpion in an ice block at least a foot thick on each side.

Kuai was shocked. Before, she had to manually fling the water at her enemy and freeze it by concentrating deeply. Yet, this time, she had willed the water as though it was her own ice, easily freezing it with her mind.

But she realized soon that she had not come unscathed. In her shock and astonishment, she had not noticed nor felt the sword point impale her stomach. She looked down and gasped, now feeling the pain. The blade had gone through her stomach, impaling itself through the stone of the waterless fountain.

Kuai’s hands trembled from the shock of the pain, pondering over what to do. If she removed the blade to return to the others, she’d only bleed out faster. On the other hand, if she waited for help, Scorpion would probably thaw before then and would be free to finish the job.

Gritting her teeth, Kuai wrapped her right hand around the blade, freezing it to the point where she was able to break it off. She did it with the help of the Medallion, the sword shattering into pieces. Unfortunately, Kuai had intended to keep a fragment of the sword in place to stem the flow, but the sword had shattered down its entire length, and so she was back to square one.

She struggled onto her feet, using the fountain for support. She placed a fist against her stomach. She quickly thought about freezing the wound but decided not to due to possible future medical complications. She limped along the path, her broken leg trailing behind her awkwardly, leaving a still-frozen Scorpion in the clearing.

With her fist there to stem the blood flow, Kuai focused on breathing deeply. Her hand was not doing a good job, and she could still feel the blood leaving her body.

Finally, she exited the woods, walking up the asphalt-sloped driveway from the main road, trying to climb up. Fatigue claimed her, and she fell to the hard ground. Refusing to give up, she crawled on the ground, pulling herself up with her upper body strength.

“Help!” Kuai cried out, with the last of her strength. She saw the door open, a bright light emerging from the house. She couldn’t make out the person as her vision was blurring from blood loss.

”Sub-Zero?! Someone call 911!” a male voice cried out.

Kuai passed out, succumbing to the pain and darkness.

* * *

“- going to KILL him!”

Kuai groaned, blinking rapidly and wincing at the harsh light above her.

”Kuai Liang!” Tomas and Cyrax both rushed to her side, and Kuai regained full consciousness. 

”What happened?” Kuai mumbled.

Sonya crosses her arms. “That’s what we were about to ask you. Although, I have an idea,” she spat, looking at Kuai’s shoulder, where the kunai had pierced her body.

Kuai nodded. “Scorpion confronted me in the forest, and I tried to not resort to violence.” She winced as she sat up in the hospital stretcher. “He was going to kill me, but then... the strangest thing happened. I don’t even know if this actually happened; I think the shock got to me.”

Cyrax grasped her hand tightly. “What happened?” he asked.

Kuai breathes out shakily. “The water from the fountain behind me... it moved. I think _I_ was controlling it. It covered Scorpion and then froze. I...” she looked up, slightly scared. “I think the Medallion helped me in that. I’m a cryomancer, not some... _water-manipulator!”_

Tomas patted her back. “Water is the liquid form of ice, Kuai. That is probably why you were able to wield it.”

Liu Kang nodded, impressed. “It seems that you will have a lot to work on, Kuai. Try to learn everything the Medallion has to offer you.”

Kuai reacted to the mention of her name. She glared at Tomas, who raised his hands in guilt. “Sorry,” he winced.

Kuai sighed in resignation. “It’s okay. It was about time,” she said tiredly.

Johnny and Jax then stormed into the room with Kenshi not too far behind. The doors closed with a resounding slam. “You need to do something, man!” Johnny shouted angrily, throwing his hands into the air. 

Jax was right there to add to Johnny’s outburst. “I found the guy there bleeding out! He could have died!”

Kung Lao groaned in frustration. “We are going to die,” he ground out.

Kenshi, ever the voice of reason, spoke up. “While bluntly put, Johnny and Jax have made valid statements. This endangers the entire operation. What do you plan to do, Liu Kang?”

Liu Kang sighed. “Hanzo must be punished somehow. But it has to be a proper punishment; one that will force him to rethink his actions.”

Kitana placed a hand on Liu Kang’s shoulder, taking a step forward. “Then perhaps the best-suited punishment would be to force Hanzo Hasashi to reap the effects of his actions. Raiden is in council with the Elder Gods for another week. Once he leaves the assembly, we will be able to contact him, and he can come to fix Kuai’s broken leg. However, until then, he will be handicapped for some time. Therefore, the best punishment would be to force Hasashi to tend to Kuai until he gets better,” she finished.

Sonya frowned. “Uh, what?!”

Cyrax got off the edge of the bed, standing over Kuai’s broken right leg. “LOOK AT THIS! This is what that monster did. He tried to KILL him! What makes you think that he won’t try to kill him again?! Do you know how easy it will be to poison his food, or do something else?!”

Kenshi placed a calming hand. “Peace, Cyrax. While your beliefs are well-founded, Hanzo would not do such a thing. I have conversed with him, and I dare say that we are becoming acquaintances. He is also fixated on the belief of honor, and so will not strike Kuai Liang while he is in this weakened state and unable to defend himself.” He nodded towards Kitana. “This is an excellent idea, Kahnum.”

Liu Kang nodded reluctantly. “So it shall be. However, I will not condone this without Kuai Liang’s consent. Will you allow this?”

Kuai hesitated, feeling the eyes of the others in the room fall on her. _The things I do to keep the peace..._ She groaned, covering her face in her hands. “I once again try to keep everything civil. Fine. But if he does finish the job, kill him for me,” she finished.

Tomas grinned like a shark. “Happily.”

Cyrax, meanwhile, shook his head. “May the Elder Gods save us from this hell,” he muttered under his breath.

Jade walked up to Kuai’s side. “Get some sleep,” she said with a gentle smile. “Conserve your energy for this upcoming week.”

Kuai nodded once, leaning back into the stretcher. Sleep was quick to claim her in its soft embrace.

* * *

_Early the Next Morning..._

“If you want, I'll break his leg for you,” Tomas offered. 

Kuai chuckled at his comment, slowly making her way up the hills in crutches, and looked down at her leg. The doctors had wrapped it in a cast, and she had requested bright blue tape be wrapped around it. “A tempting offer, but that would just add to our problems.”

Cyrax shook his head angrily. “We’re just letting him use us like a doormat,” he spat. “And we can’t do anything, all for _keeping the peace.”_

Kuai huffed in amusement. “Well, someone has to do it.” She paused in front of the door, waiting for Tomas to hold the door open before following them inside.

Sitting at the dining table was none other than Kuai’s attacker from last night. Cyrax glared at the figure, aggressively moving forwards before Tomas held him back, silently shaking his head. “Let Liu Kang and Kitana talk to him. Let’s get Kuai upstairs,” the enenra hissed under his breath. The trio made their way upstairs and locked themselves in Kuai’s room, the injured cryomancer swinging to her bed where she sat down on it, leaning the crutches against the bedframe. 

"Let's let Mom and Dad chew out the bratty kid," Tomas said jokingly, sitting down next to Kuai. She gave him a look of exasperation. "Really, Tomas?"

Cyrax chuckled, leaning against a wall. "Hopefully Liu Kang will be able to get through that thick skull of his. If that bastard looks at you the wrong way, Kuai, you let us know." Tomas nodded fervently. "Yeah, Cyrax and I will 'pay him a visit,' if you know what I mean," he said, winking at Cyrax.

Kuai groaned, shaking her head and removing her mask. "If it comes to that, I may as well just hand over the Lin Kuei to your command and be done with it. Forget a week; I won't survive one _hour._ And if he doesn't try to kill me by then, the awkwardness of the situation will probably convince me to off myself."

**"WHAT?!"**

All three Lin Kuei jumped up at the sudden outburst from downstairs, the sound managing to penetrate through the soundproof walls. Cyrax shook his head. "Yeah, you're fucked."

Kuai rolled her eyes. "You don't say?" She pulled her crutches to her, getting up and moving to the front door. Tomas moved quickly to block her. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?" The Grandmaster sighed, shifting her weight slightly. "Might as well head on down and rip off the band-aid, right?"

Tomas squared his shoulders with resolve. "I'm coming with you," he declared, moving to open the door.

"That's not a good idea," Cyrax called out. "Your presence will only make Scorpion more agitated, and that'll make Kuai's like all the more harder. Just let her do her own thing, man! She's got this."

The man in grey frowned in dislike. "Fine," he responded. "But when he does do something, I call dibs on landing the first punch."

Rolling her eyes at her friend's childish behavior, Kuai exited the safety of her bedroom, hearing the door close behind her. She made her way across the top floor with ease, starting to become familiar with the mechanisms of the braces. She continued on with her plan to go downstairs to where she could hear the growing noises of argument.

Kuai paused at the staircase, gazing down at the path she had to take to reach the bottom.

She shifted anxiously in the braces, slowly inching down the first step. Once she had moved her entire weight so that she was standing on the first step down, Kuai sighed in relief. _This isn't so bad... Why do I need Scorpion's help, anyway?_ She moved the left crutch forward and down, stay upright.

And then, she lost her balance.

Kuai tumbled down the stairs, falling so quickly that she hadn't registered what had happened until she landed on the bottom floor, splayed on her back. Groaning in pain, she looked up, seeing the confused expressions of Liu Kang and Kitana and the sulky face of Hasashi.

"Hi," she wheezed, waving a singular hand. "Don't mind me; I'm just catching my breath."

Kitana gasped, pointing to Kuai's injured shoulder. "You're bleeding!"

Kuai saw the open wound, grasping it tightly. "Shit. The stitches must have come undone." Liu Kang frowned in concern. "Do we need to go back to the hospital?"

The Lin Kuei shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I can stitch it back up myself." She started to collect her braces, trying to get back up again.

"Don't be an idiot," Hasashi interjected. He seemed taken aback by his own words but continued to speak. "The chances of you stitching your own wound without any complications is higher than if someone else did it for you."

Liu Kang jumped in, sniffing out a golden opportunity. "So then you can help him, right? And you'll help him up and down the stairs to make sure that he doesn't injure himself further? And you'll bring up food to his room?"

Realizing that he had brought this upon himself, Hasashi clenched his teeth, giving in. " **Fine**." He walked over to the still-seated Kuai and pulled her up by her good arm, throwing it around his shoulders and propping her up. Kuai was startled by the sudden movements, yet she willed herself to limp up the stairs alongside her "helper."

_I'm not going to die in the next hour. With the luck I've had so far, I'm going to die in these next few **minutes.**_


	4. A Common Understanding (leads to something, eventually)

Kuai let herself be led by the same person who had dealt her these injuries, dreading the upcoming interaction. He had not said a single word to her yet, and she stumbled over her own feet as he started to speed up.

Hasashi glared down at her in annoyance. "Keep up."

Kuai huffed, bitter over the whole situation. "Neither one of us would have to be put in this situation if you didn't do this to me in the first place!" They interacted in a battle of expressions; the heated, enraged glare contrasting with the collected and unimpressed blank face. Hasashi looked away first, jerking Kuai to continue walking forward.

Before long, they both were walking down the empty, deserted hallway where the bedrooms were all located. The others were out training, and the Lin Kuei briefly thought wistfully of training with Tomas and Cyrax. Hanzo continued to lead her down the hall, stopping at the very end of the hallway. Kuai's eyes widened with realization and disbelief as she realized where his room was. "That's your room?" she asked, gesturing to the oak door.

He growled in irritation. " **Yes.** " He stopped at the door, removing Kuai's draped arm over his shoulder and propping her on the wall while he retrieved his key. Kuai shook her head, still in minor shock of the revelation. "You know, I'm right here," she said, gesturing with a free hand to her own room right next door.

Hasashi did not look up to see where she had indicated. "I don't care," he grunted out, pushing the door open. Kuai winced as it banged against the adjacent wall, but didn't have time to ponder it much longer before Hanzo had thrown her arm over his shoulders once more, leading her into his room. Setting her on the simple and made bed, he fixed another glare on her. He raised what was supposed to be a threatening accusatory finger, pointing at her. "Don't move or touch anything," he growled.

Kuai looked up with wide innocent eyes. "Not that I could move, anyways. And when you say to 'not touch anything,' does that include the bed, too?" she tried to emphasize as much sarcasm as she could into the look she gave him in return.

His glare deepened. "Just stay where you are." Once he left the room, Kuai slumped in relief, groaning as she shifted the shoulder where the wound had reopened. She hissed in pain, her left hand flying quickly to cover the injury.

To be honest, she had expected a retort from the ex-specter after her sarcastic comment and was surprised when she did not receive one. But none of that really mattered. They were both in this mess, and now she had to work with the most hot-headed being on Earth.

_Stupid Shirai Ryu. Why the hell am I being punished alongside you?!_

Kuai sighed, closing her eyes shut. Off all the injuries, even including the gut wound and the broken leg, she hoped that the injury to her shoulder wouldn't affect her ability to throw knives with impeccable accuracy; something that she had worked very hard on in her training. It was very important to her,... for _some_ reason; for the life of it, she couldn't even remember!"

* * *

**_A Time Forgotten Long Ago..._ **

_"Keep your damn arm steady, idiot!"_

_Young Kuai frowned dejectedly. "I'm trying, Bi-Han," she had said softly._

_Her brother shook his head in disappointment. It had been one of the first training classes that Kuai had taken. Bi-Han was appointed instructor, and the lesson's objective was to throw the knives at the straw dummy. The other students looked on, watching as the older brother scolded his younger sibling._

_"You're obviously not trying hard enough," he had snapped. He was at the end of his rope, and Kuai knew this. "Concentrate and throw it!"_

_Kuai turned to the target, splaying her legs apart as instructed. Her hand on the blade of the weapon, she sucked on her bottom lip in anxiety and anticipation, reeling it back and sending it forward._ _It sailed over the head of the dummy._

_The pupils edged away from their instructor, the fury rolling off of him in waves. Kuai quivered in fear. "I... I'm sorry, Bi-Han. I just need more practice!"_

_He edged up to her, driving a fist into her stomach. She had doubled over in pain, falling to the ground in the hopes that he would not hit her again._

_"I've seen toddlers throw knives better than you," he snarled. "You'll be staying here the entire night, throwing knives until you can throw every one without missing one." Letting the words sink in, he then let loose a kick to her ribs as she was hunched over, trying to get up. Kuai fell to the ground again, crying out in pain._

_Bi-Han had knelt down, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "My name is Sub-Zero. There is no more Bi-Han." He stood up, starting to snap at the other students._

_Kuai had pulled herself up, willing the tears to disappear as she grabbed another knife on the table, repeating the steps again._

* * *

**Hanzo's POV**

Retrieving the crutches at the lower level of the house, Hanzo grumbled angrily. He felt tempted to snap the braces into two out of pure spite, but he was able to pull himself back together.

After all, this _was_ his fault, to begin with. Had he not provoked the Lin Kuei Grandmaster and inflicted harm, he would not have to be doing these chores.

_And yet, you did._

The mocking inner voice rang out in his head, and he shut his eyes tightly. He had been spending time with the blind swordsman, Kenshi Takahashi, to try and piece his life together. They had made significant progress, or at least, that was what Kenshi would always tell him. Hanzo had his doubts.

He knew that this Sub-Zero was not to blame. He _knew_ that. So why did he pursue him in that forest?

_You let your anger get the best of you, again. Both Kenshi AND Raiden warned you of letting your emotions rule over your actions._

Hanzo sighed in defeat. While everyone had been at the hospital, he had thawed from the ice block Sub-Zero had left him in and returned to the empty house. He had searched the bedrooms, eventually identifying Sub-Zero's room ( _why RIGHT next to his own, damn it?!)_ and had rummaged through the Lin Kuei's items. He had found a hard drive, which he uploaded onto Cage's laptop in the ex-actor's room, and Hanzo had watched as Quan Chi promised to wipe out the Shirai Ryu for the Lin Kuei's assistance.

Just as this Sub-Zero had said.

Now, Hanzo could not ignore the truth. Quan Chi had killed his clan, his family. Both Sub-Zero warriors were innocent. Hanzo had sat at the dining table in disbelief, seeing his entire world of beliefs turn upside-down. And if this was indeed the truth...

... he had an apology to make.

_The **thought** of it made his insides squirm._

Hanzo had made his way back upstairs to his "patient," the thought of apologizing to his long-time rival putting a bad taste in his mouth. He unlocked the door again, stepping in. "I'm going to get the medkit -" He paused, looking at the Lin Kuei Grandmaster sitting on the edge of the bed.

Sub-Zero was staring at the floor, where ice was starting to spread out across the wood.

Hanzo was instantly reminded of the dinner from last night, where the ice had dispersed over the floor and the cryomancer was... out of it. To be honest, he had been thrown off by Sub-Zero's behavior but had waved it off as some weird Lin Kuei technique. Now, seeing it again and with the ice spreading more rapidly, Hanzo knew that this was a serious issue. If the cryomancer could not control his powers, then he would put everyone else at risk in battle. 

_That's what you say, at least._

But perhaps what disturbed him the most of this display was the fact that it was obvious that Sub-Zero was reliving old memories. And judging by the clenched fists on the legs and tense body, Hanzo knew that whatever the memories were about, they were _not_ pleasant. 

"Sub-Zero!" he snapped, trying to get the cryomancer's attention. The blue assassin did not look up nor react, the ice continuing to creep out. Hanzo walked over, concern growing, trying to avoid the ice on the ground and shook the man's shoulder. 

Finally, the Lin Kuei warrior looked up. He blinked once in confusion before noticing the ice covering the floor. "Not again," the ice-wielder grumbled aloud. He held out a single hand, and slowly, the ice began to retract, disappearing from sight.

Hanzo shook his head. Better to bring this up now than later. "Your powers have grown at a fast rate, but your ability to control them is waning."

Sub-Zero shook his head. "I became lost in unwanted memories," he admitted. "It will not happen again, I can assure you."

Hanzo, who had his own fair share of said "unwanted memories," knew that the cryomancer was lying. He persisted. "If you can not control your powers," he continued, "you endanger all of us in kombat."

The Lin Kuei shifted, making an attempt to rise up. "I _know_ that! Do not criticize me, Scorpion. Talk to me about this only when you start to keep your anger in check."

Hanzo, who had enough of the Lin Kuei's biting remarks, moved forward quickly and raised a fist.

_**The result was instantaneous.** _

Sub-Zero flinched, raising his hands as a child would do against a bigger and older bully. He fell off the bed to the ground, keeping his hands up to protect a blow directed to the head area. Hanzo slowly lowered his fist, seeing the body language as a form of abuse in the Lin Kuei's early childhood.

As quickly as he had fallen, Sub-Zero came back to the present. Where he had landed on the ground, ice was starting to cover his body. Not aggressively, Hanzo noted, but as if to protect him. The former hellspawn, still a man of morals (even to his rival), felt the fury starting to build.

"Who?" he asked simply.

Sub-Zero was still struggling to breathe regularly, chest heaving with the effort. "That... is none of your business," he finally gave out.

Hanzo's eyes narrowed. "I will not take 'no' for an answer, _Sub-Zero_. Who did this?"

The sound of strained breathing was the only sound in the air for a while until Sub-Zero had composed himself. "You already know who," he muttered, using his arms to pull himself back onto the bed.

The Shirai Ryu frowned. He had suspected at first, but he dare not link the possible cause to the result without the proper evidence. "Siblings do not inflict pain with the intent to harm on each other," he argued, still in denial.

Sub-Zero chuckled hollowly. "You knew Bi-Han best. He was ruthless and cruel. He cut off all ties to me when I was seven years old. In his mind, he has no family."

Hanzo shook his head. "Then why do you still cling on to the memory of him? If he is as cruel as you make out him to be, then why pursue me in revenge?"

The Lin Kuei looked up, glaring defensively. "He wasn't always that way! When we were first taken away from our mother, he vowed to protect me from the elders of the clan. I hold onto _that_ image of Bi-Han. _He_ was my brother, and he was killed by the assassin who took his place. And besides," he paused, "he was the only family I had."

Hanzo began to see the Lin Kuei warrior in a new light. _This_ was Kuai Liang, the supposed wise and honorable Grandmaster who had pulled the Lin Kuei clan from the ashes and rebuilt it from the ground up. Deciding to give the man some privacy, Hanzo went to the bathroom to retrieve the medkit from a cabinet before making his way back. Sub-Zero looked up immediately as he sat next to the Grandmaster, opening up the small kit.

The Shirai Ryu gave pause. "I have an error I have meant to retract."

Sub-Zero studied him, slightly taken aback. Hanzo took this as his cue to continue. "You were right. About everything," he broke off, huffing uncomfortably. "While you were with the others at the hospital, I found Sektor's hard drive and watched him talk to Quan Chi. It all progressed exactly as you had tried to explain to me. But I let my anger consume me, and I did not hear you in my attack last night."

Hanzo found that as he continued to talk, the easier the words started to piece themselves together. He had been weighed down by this revelation the entire night, and letting it out was starting to lift the stress away. "I killed Bi-Han unjustly, and inflicted my pain upon you; the loss of family. I am sorry for everything that I have done to you," he finished.

Surprisingly, Hanzo felt that he had meant every word sincerely. And Sub-Zero was able to see that as well.

"I can not forgive you now, Scorpion," the cryomancer began, "Not yet, anyway. Over time, perhaps. I will not rush into something in which I am uncertain. But I acknowledge your genuine apology, and I will try to look over our past and put this trivial rivalry to rest alongside you," he nodded.

Hanzo had expected such an answer, even preparing himself for rejection, so he took the response gladly. "My name is Hanzo Hasashi," he said, extending his hand forwards in an olive branch gesture.

Sub-Zero took his hand firmly. "Kuai Liang," he said.

Hanzo nodded, turning back to his intended task. "You need to remove your jacket and pull down your shirt so I can stitch the wound up."

He looped the thread through the needle as he talked, looking up expecting Kuai to move immediately. However, he remained inactive, seeming hesitant.

The Lin Kuei warrior unconsciously brought a hand up to his shoulder. "That... I can not do that," he said bluntly, uncertainty lacing his voice.

Hanzo stared at him in disbelief. _What?!_ "Then how do you expect me to gain access to the wound?"

Kuai inched away. "I have told you that I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Give me the needle," he said, reaching for the referred-to object in Hanzo's hand.

The Shirai Ryu pulled it away. "And I have told _you_ that you are most definitely _not_ capable of doing it yourself. Take off the damn sweatshirt," he growled, growing more agitated. He refrained from reaching out to remove the jacket, seeing the effect that sudden movements had on Kuai's mental well-being.

Kuai moved an arm to put distance between the two. "I _can't,_ " he repeated stubbornly as if Hanzo would be able to understand the unspoken reason.

Hanzo felt his patience snap at that moment. Throwing all progress he had made earlier, he moved forward, trying to wrestle the garment off of the other man, _somehow_. He didn't care what he had to do to get the damn thing off, his irritation having taken over his actions altogether. 

Kuai gave an undignified squeak, flailing his arms at the sudden onslaught. "What the hell?!"

Hanzo ignored his outburst, the two interlocked in a scuffle. "You are wasting my time," Hanzo snapped in annoyance.

"Get off of me!" Kuai shouted, trying to throw the heavier man off of him.

Suddenly, Hanzo's hand had gotten close to Kuai's face, and a cracking noise resounded.

Both men stopped, jumping back from each other to give space. Hanzo cursed himself, scanning the other man's face for any injuries. _If he had hurt him even more, the others would definitely give him hell for this._

Kuai sat, confused as to what had made the noise. He looked down, checking his leg in the cast when the fractured mask that covered his mouth and nose fell off his face, resting on the ground in two separate pieces.

The reaction was instantaneous. He immediately brought his hands up to cover the area that the mask had previously covered and looked at Hanzo, eyes wide in fear and worry. 

Hanzo paused, unsure of how to progress with this situation. **_Damn._** _I need to **think** before I act._

"Neither one of us can leave until I fix your injury," Hanzo finally said, fidgeting with the needle. The tension in the room was making him uncomfortable. "Your identity is safe with me, I promise."

Kuai shook his head. "It's not that," voice muffled. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind, closing his eyes tightly as he seemed to try and find a way out of this situation.

"Shit." The Lin Kuei let his hands drop, and drew back the hood of the sweatshirt, moving sluggishly in defeat and reluctance.

Hanzo gaped at the revelation. Long dark brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, had been hidden in the hood. He - no, _she -_ had a heart-shaped face, with defined cheekbones. Hanzo could now clearly see that the scar that had cut over her right eye trailed down to her cheek. Without the mask,the feminine features of her face were on full display. 

And even though he was shocked and stupefied by this simple act, everything fit into place. Every time they had fought, she had been lighter and faster in movement than her brother; quicker and harder to hit. And while her brother had been aggressive in fighting, lashing out without thinking of the next step, his younger sister was extremely cautious, thinking of the next blow.

And besides, the fact that she was a female this entire time made Hanzo more impressed of her feats. _Not that women are inferior to men._

Kuai clenched her hands together, knuckles turning white. "The Lin Kuei were against the thought of women warriors. The woman's sole purpose was to produce the next generation of Lin Kuei, and it was for this reason that I disguised myself as a man."

She looked up to face him. "I'm going to tell them, it's just... I'm not ready." Her hands shook as she spoke. "I've had to hide from the world, and I've been living the life of another person. I'm only now starting to be myself. I went to an arcade, I listened to music." Her eyes had a distant look to them, getting lost in happy memories longingly. "For the first time, I feel _alive._ But I've been hiding this for so long, that it just feels natural, and at the same time, it doesn't. I'm just trying to find the right time to tell the others," she finished.

Hanzo nodded respectfully. "I will not tell anyone, Kuai Liang. You have my word. Let me see the wound," he said softly, lifting the needle.

Kuai nodded, removing the sweatshirt and pulled down the shirt from the neckline, revealing the injury.

Hanzo was astonished by her petite size. She looked so fragile, and he hesitated, worrying that the needle would somehow break her.

As if she had read his mind, Kuai huffed impatiently. "I may be a woman, but I'm not some delicate flower, Scorpion," she huffed.

Hanzo was instantly reminded of Harumi, who had once said something similar in her early life. Hadn't it been the same words? The more he thought of his early wife, the more similarities he could draw between her and Kuai. The thought was unnerving, but he ignored them. Where he had failed in saving Harumi, he would not fail Kuai Liang.

Her history with her brother was the most concerning to the Shirai Ryu, whose motives and morals revolved heavily around the idea of family. How one could inflict mental trauma on their family escaped his grasp. It was clearly evident, despite the masks that Kuai tried to hide behind, that she was damaged. Probably worse than himself. He made a vow there to himself, putting him as the guardian of the Lin Kuei Grandmaster.

He quickly came back to his senses as to not worry her, and started to close the wound.

* * *

_Kuai's POV_

Something had happened in her conversation with the Shirai Ryu.

She supposed that in their first conversation without the threat of violence, she had managed to catch a glimpse of the Hanzo Hasashi before his change into Scorpion. After he had terrified her and forced her into a panic attack, he had become almost... protective, in an ironic turn of events. 

And when her mask had broke, forcing her to show her face, he had responded in a very mature way. Both of them had been surprised by the other, Kuai surmised, but in the end, both warriors had managed to come to an understanding.

_I suppose the Netherrealm has decided to freeze over._

Kuai pulled her sweatshirt back on, careful not to strain the injury and retrieved her crutches. "I can't go out without my mask. I packed extras, but they're in my room," she said to Hanzo, pulling the hood over her head.

He nodded immediately in understanding, opening the room's door and checking the hallway. Keeping his eyes outside, he beckoned with his hand. "Come quickly."

Kuai did as he requested, swinging on the braces over to him. He opened the door wider, giving her more room to go outside, and she went over to the next door on the left, leading into her own room. She was able to get the key from her pocket but fumbled with it slightly at first.

From behind, Hanzo intervened. "Let me." Kuai quickly handed over the key, and he put it into the lock, opening the locked door quickly. The cryomancer cast a quick last glance behind her back before rushing into the room. Hanzo was quick to follow her, shutting the door quickly and locked it again.

With both inside and the door locked to prevent others from entering, they both took the time to catch their breath. Looking back at what they had done, Kuai couldn't stop herself. She dissolved into laughter, the giggles sounding bright and joyful, yet not too brash-sounding.

Even Hanzo snorted at the ridiculousness of the situation, making his way over to her dresser. "Where are they?"

Kuai swung her way to the closet. "In here." She managed to free a hand, opening the sliding doors. Up at the top shelf were two other masks that Kuai had packed just in case, placing them on the shelf by standing on her toes.

As if sensing her limitation, Hanzo walked over to her, easily taking one of them off the shelf. Kuai smiled in gratitude, taking it from his offering hand. "Thanks," she said, moving to the bed to sit down and quickly put it back on.

"Shall we go to the others?" Kuai suggested. "You can train as well, while I watch."

Hanzo nodded in approval. "Let us go, then." He went to the door, opening it for her again. Kuai nodded toward him in thanks, going outside into the hallway. She waited for him to close and lock her door, and he handed her the key. He walked beside her as they both went toward the stairs, Kuai deciding to start a conversation. "What do you plan to do, after all this is over?"

The Shirai Ryu seemed to ponder. "To tell you the truth, I have not given that much thought," he confessed. "I suppose once Raiden has restored my clan, I will be focused on overseeing the Shirai Ryu's duties as its Master."

Kuai nodded in understanding. "I look forward to returning home. Tomas and I have started to explore the delights of the world. I've never seen a movie before, and I was greatly entertained by the experience. Now that Cyrax is back, I suppose we'll have to do the same for him as well."

She turned to look at him. "When the Shirai Ryu has returned, perhaps we could arrange for the formation of an alliance between our clans. It could put our past conflict to an end, and we would be able to support each other."

Hanzo seemed taken aback by her proposal. Kuai thought that the idea that she was trying to extend an olive branch so soon was... _unorthodox_. Eventually, the Shirai Ryu nodded in response to her question. "That would be optimal. With the combined power of both clans, we would be able to achieve much in the defense of Earthrealm."

Kuai mentally let out a sigh of relief. _Finally, I'm starting to make common ground with Scorpion._ Upon arriving at the staircase she had fallen down earlier today, she grimaced, looking down at the steps.

"Throw down your crutches," Hanzo advised. "I'll help you down." Kuai did as he said, watching the crutches land with a heavy thump at the base of the stairs. Leaning on the banister of the staircase, Hanzo bowed down in accommodation so that she could throw her arm around his neck as they had done earlier.

They walked down together slowly, Kuai keeping her eyes on her feet as she bounced from one step to the next. Once they had safely reached the bottom of the steps, Kuai sighed in relief, leaning against the nearest wall as Hanzo knelt down to retrieve her braces. "Thanks," she said, grabbing them from the Shirai Ryu. He nodded in response shortly, abandoning her and walking outside.

Kuai was at first puzzled as to why he had abandoned her, but then realized why he had done so when he stepped outside to join the others. _Even he is concerned with his image, coming off to the others... Wow._ She huffed, shaking her head as she slowly made her way to the backdoor.

* * *

Stepping outside, Kuai squinted her eyes, adjusting to the bright sunlight. Blinking rapidly, she cleared the white spots from her vision and stared out to survey the others.

Most of the kombatants were sparring in pairs, each operating in their own areas in the expanse of the backyard. Kuai looked over to her side, seeing the patio with lawn chairs, and she made her way over, sitting down in the seat with extended leg support.

Exhaling in relaxation, Kuai reached into the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt, retrieving her phone and earbuds wrapped around the device. She unwound the earbuds, placing them in her ears and unlocked her phone, going to her music collection. 

When she and Tomas had been discovering the quirks of everyday life, one of the first things they did was delve into the world of music. Both had been appalled by the music that was being released today and in recent years, but luckily, they went back through music history and found their own favorite artists. 

Both Kuai and Tomas shared a common love for Green Day, but from there, they had splintered off. Tomas especially loved the bands of the past: AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, and Journey were just some of his favorites. Meanwhile, Kuai was very selective, and while she would occasionally listen to select songs from these artists, she commonly listened to Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! at the Disco. She had learned that they were collectively known as the "Emo Trinity," but she didn't really care. _Music was music_. Her favorite "historical" band would always be Queen, and she shuffled her playlist, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes.

Just as she was getting lost in the opening riffs of _Dead!_ , she felt a pair of hands suddenly grip her shoulders.

"Holy shit!!!" she yelled aloud, freezing the assaulter's hands. She whirled around, glaring at Tomas, who was frantically shaking his hands to break the ice that had encased his hands. Beside him, Cyrax was shaking his head. The African male looked at her, saying something, but Kuai couldn't hear over the music. Reluctantly, she removed both earbuds, sighing as she did so. "Sorry, what was that?" she asked.

Cyrax repeated what he had said earlier. "Tomas and I were just checking up on you. How are you holding up after Scorpion?"

Kuai huffed amusedly, thinking back on the rapid course of events. "Well, he's _Hanzo,_ now. We're on a first-name basis, and he was kind enough to stitch me up and helped me up and down the stairs. We've talked, and I think he's starting to warm up to me."

Tomas stared at her. "What sorcery have you done to win over Scorpion?!" She huffed in amusement, leaning back in the lawn chair. "He's actually not that bad. I think he just saw me as another brainwashed Lin Kuei, but once I was exposed, he seemed to be very... protective, almost."

Cyrax frowned. "What do you mean, 'exposed'?"

Kuai nodded curtly. "I sort of had another panic attack. And then my mask fell off, and he saw that I was a woman." Tomas grimaced. "How are you holding up? Your last attack was pretty bad; you were having trouble breathing." Kuai waved him off. "I was fine. He helped, too."

Cyrax glanced at the Shirai Ryu, who was sparring with Kenshi at the moment. "Do you think that he'll keep your secrets safe?"

Kuai gazed at Hanzo Hasashi, who had clearly won the fight against Kenshi. "Based on what I saw earlier? Yes, he'll keep my secret."

_He's not as bad as I had thought. And who knows what'll happen after this thing ends?_


	5. I Was Born into Battle (but that doesn't mean that I enjoy it)

**_Three Days Later..._ **

Raiden had ended his session with the Elder Gods earlier than planned. He had made his appearance to the kombatants, who had been gathered and resting in the common living room as the moon started to rise over the dark pitch-black sky, startling everyone. He had been greeted as such.

_Not to mention the amounts of pillows thrown at their "would-be attacker," but Kuai couldn't judge them. She had iced a pillow and hurled it at the "intruder," herself._

He had frowned in concern upon seeing her broken leg, sighing in exasperation as he knelt to heal her leg with the Jinsei's powers. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of pity for the Thunder God. He seemed exhausted, and the thought that his kombatants were fighting amongst themselves could only make him more irked. She tried to give him a sympathetic smile, only to realize that her mask was covering her face.

_Wow. This does suck._

Kuai uttered a quiet "thanks" as he got up, the blue light disappearing from his hands, and she tore through the cast and tried gingerly to stand on her leg. Upon feeling no pain or stress, she added more weight on her limb until she realized that she could use it normally. She sighed, thanking Raiden and the gods. _Feeling dependent on someone felt so limiting._ It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Hanzo's company - it was just that the thought that she had to rely on someone else for help didn't rub right with her. 

She was free from the Lin Kuei. She didn't need to be anchored down anymore; all she wanted was her damn freedom. 

She walked over to Raiden, who seemed to be very troubled. "Is everything alright, Raiden?" she asked tentatively. "You look exhausted."

He nodded slowly. "The Elder Gods gave me nothing but troubling news. Quan Chi and his forces are developing more rapidly than we had expected. They have already started to launch attacks on the outer realms. On top of that, he has enlisted the help of the Black Dragon. I will be staying here to bring us to any other disturbances that pop up in Earthrealm. With my abilities, I will be able to transport everyone through teleportation to these areas."

Sonya, who alongside everyone had overheard Raiden's remarks, scowled. "Kano? Damn, this fucker just doesn't die, does he?"

Raiden nodded, looking grim. "We must remain vigilant. Wear your gear at all times, and be prepared to go into battle. I fear and sense that an attack on Earthrealm is soon upon us." With that, the Thunder God retreated upstairs, most likely going to access a remote room to sleep in.

Kung Lao shook his head. "Poor Raiden. He looked really out of it."

Jade nodded. "We would be wise to heed his advice. One day, we may be brought into a conflict whilst we are in the middle of eating breakfast or in other events. As he said, we must be prepared at all times."

This grim news dampened the atmosphere immensely, and the kombatants slowly one by one started to make their way upstairs to their respective rooms to sleep. Kuai remained with Tomas, Cyrax, and Hanzo, who all sat in the couches in the living area space. Kuai sat in the big one on the left-most edge next to Tomas in the middle, with Cyrax on the right-most side. Hanzo sat in the single sofa to Kuai's left, bending forward and clasping his hands together over his knees.

Cyrax and Tomas, both being exposed to Hanzo's company after spending time with Kuai, had grown to tolerate the former-hellspawn's presence. Now, they were all able to talk in deep conversations without the paranoia and threats aimed at each other. 

_It was a VERY nice change._

"We thought we had months," Tomas said dully, kicking at the leg of the coffee table in the center. "Three months my ass!"

Cyrax shook his head. "Technically, it'll be a while before Quan Chi mounts his final and largest attack. With these smaller attacks, we can gain valuable practice and exposure in a more... realistic setting."

Hanzo scoffed at his words, not unkindly to the Lin Kuei warrior himself. "Our chances of making through this unscathed are highly unlikely. I can't shake the feeling that many will die after this is over." He seemed extremely disturbed by this thought, and honestly, Kuai couldn't blame him.

She sighed, fiddling with the Dragon Medallion that rested in her palm. "No matter what happens, we have to win. No matter who dies or who lives. This is our home, and we should all be fighting with the expectation that we may die as a result. Just as long as we all give it our all, and never give in."

Silence engulfed the room.

"Welp!" Tomas said suddenly, clapping his hands once. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired as fuck. I'm going to sleep. Coming with me, Cyrax?"

The yellow-garbed Lin Kuei shook his head. "Nah. I can't picture myself falling asleep after-"

"I _**said,**_ are you going to come with me, _**Cyrax?** " _Tomas asked again, a pressuring tone in his voice. He grinned like a shark, teeth showing and a menacing glint in his eyes.

Cyrax blinked once slowly. “Um, yeah. I’m like, _so_ tired.” He got up, following after the enenra and going upstairs. He cast a glance behind him, Kuai frowning in confusion. He only shrugged, disappearing as he reached the top.

Kuai leaned back on the couch, moving her legs to occupy the space that her friends had abandoned. Outside, the night seemed ominous, and she tightened her hold on the Medallion in her hand. ”We should get some rest as well,” Kuai stated, starting to get up slowly.

Hanzo nodded, staring off into the distance. He seemed to be giving great thought into what Raiden had said earlier, and Kuai thought it best to leave him be. She passed by him as she made her way to the staircase, placing a hand on his shoulder. ”Good night, Hanzo.”

But they both knew that no one would be sleeping soundly that night. 

* * *

Kuai had been trained at an early age to stir from sleep at the slightest movement in her surroundings. It was life-saving at times, but also an extreme hindrance.

Under the covers that had been pulled up to her chin ( _she felt like a **child** ), _Kuai stared blankly up to the ceiling, eyes wide. The shadows that the moonlight from her window cast seemed to threaten her, their looming darkness covering the walls. She felt foolish, but couldn't bring herself to calm down.

_Damn you, Quan Chi. You **will** die the next time we meet, with the gods on my side. Of course, that is if Hanzo doesn't get to you first..._

Kuai exhaled shakily, the lingering thoughts of fear and paranoia weighing heavily on her mind. She tried a new method of distraction, thinking back to the past three days she had spent with Hanzo. They had often hidden in her room, with Tomas and Cyrax making an occasional appearance. Kuai found that Hanzo had a knack for dry humor which would always make her laugh or snort. It was the little things that she picked up on people, probably due to her assassin upbringing, where they were expected to assess their targets by using observational cues.

But as she thought of the Lin Kuei, Kuai immediately thought of the families that she helped to slaughter, all under the name of the Grandmaster’s name. There had been so many, and unfortunately, Kuai hadn't been able to save them all. In her worst nightmares, she’d see their ghoulish faces with their bottomless eyes glaring accused at her.

_And then, what came when you were caught..._

* * *

**_Her first mission..._ **

_Kuai panted, looking up at the carnage that the Lin Kuei squadron had done._

_The remote town’s structures were aflame, the blaze emitted from the tallest building (the town’s clock building) seemed to touch the stars._

_Kuai’s throat was dry, and she became deaf to everything happening around her. The world seemed to spin dangerously. Her vision blurred, and there was a distinct ringing in her ears, although there had been no explosion. All around her, her fellow clansmen were scuttling this way and that._

_**Her hands shook.**  
  
A sudden hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her trance of horror and shock. Tomas - no, it was **Smoke** now - peered at her with a concerned look in her eyes. ”Are you okay?!” He had to shout over the ensuing sounds of destruction happening around them._

_”I’m fine,” Kuai shouted back. She gripped the hilt of her sheathed sword, strapped to her back._

_At that moment, somehow, as though it was a sign from the gods, Kuai picked up the sound of the wail of a newborn infant. Her eyes widened, and her hand gripped her companion’s arm tightly. ”Smoke, did you hear that?”_

_He gave her a confused look. ”No. What is it?” Kuai scanned the burning village frantically, and the infant wailed again._

_”There!” she shouted, identifying a small but on the edge of the carnage, nearby the neighboring forest. She started to sprint as fast as she could, feeling Smoke on her heels. She kicked down the door off its hinges, stepping inside and coughing from the smoke, squinting through the dark smog and blazing fire._

_There in the corner, was a family, huddled together and hugging each other tightly. Upon seeing the two Lin Kuei, the mother cried out in fear, pulling her two children closer to her, hugging them tightly. Kuai noticed that the children were twins; one boy and one girl. The father, upon seeing the look Kuai cast on his children, moved forward to shield his family in an act of self-sacrifice. Kuai felt as though all the air had been knocked from her body._

**_Had her parents done the same for her long ago, when she had been taken by the Lin Kuei, only to get cut down?_ **

_Smoke had moved forward, his sword was already drawn and ready to strike when Kuai stood in front of his path. ”Smoke, don't,” she pleaded._

_He, not understanding at the time, frowned. ”Tundra, we have to,” he said firmly, yet still casting a look behind her at the frightened family._

_Kuai refused to back down. ”Surely these people didn't have a hand in our affairs. Help me to help them escape. Please,” she whispered, begging for him to hear her plea._

_He hesitated slightly, eventually sheathing the blade in its scabbard and moving forward to help her. ”Okay.”_

_Kuai knelt to the family’s level, making eye contact with the father. She lifted both hands midair as a sign of peace. ”We’re not going to hurt you. But you need to come with us so we can get you out of here,” she said, hoping that he’d understand._

_Thankfully, the man seemed to understand what she was trying to do, and he grabbed his wife’s arm, leading his family to the window that Tomas had smashed through, making it wide for the family to easily escape through the woods._

_”Walk two miles east, and then another mile north,” Kuai said. ”There is a village there that can help you.” She watched as the family ran through the forest, the father turning behind briefly to give them both a short now of thanks._

**_And yet, their ”traitorous” act had not gone unnoticed._ **

_When they had returned, Kuai and Tomas had been called to report to the Grandmaster’s throne room immediately. The room was mostly empty, with the only other people in the room being the Grandmaster, Sektor, and Bi-Han. Kuai drew in a harsh breath upon catching sight of her brother, who had been there in the burning of the village._

_Sub-Zero nodded once at them. ”That’s them, Grandmaster. They let a family escape.”_

_Kuai stiffened, hurt by the betrayal and struggled to keep a composed face._

_The Grandmaster scowled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. ”Is that so?”_

_Smoke panicked. ”He’s lying! We didn't help the enemy-”_

_Kuai interjected, after quickly gauging their situation. Either way, someone was getting punished..._

_”Shut up, idiot,” she snapped, ”I let the family escape. I forced Smoke to comply with my orders since I was a rank superior. When he refused to obey, I threatened him with death.”_

_Silence engulfed the room. The Grandmaster studied Kuai intensely, but she held her head high, not wavering at all. He raised two fingers. ”Leave us, Smoke. And do not speak of this.”_

_Tomas seemed to struggle with the decision to abandon her, bowing stiffly. ”Yes, Grandmaster.” Kuai heard the doors close behind her, the resounding booming noise sealing her fate._

_The Grandmaster studied her, like a wolf studying their prey. She tried not to shiver, as he turned to his son, Sektor. ”Do what you will, my son.” He got up from his seat, retreating to his private quarters, leaving Kuai alone with Sektor and Sub-Zero._

_”Give me your knife, Sub-Zero,” Sektor said lazily, the glint in his eyes betraying his excitement. To Kuai’s dismay, the cryomancer did so without hesitation, offering the hilt to the red-garbed Lin Kuei. He fixed on her a cold glare._

**_She always wondered if he wanted to do it himself._ **

_Sector brandished it, grinning like a maniac as he approached Kuai. Taller in height, he towered over her, the knife’s steel glistening in the light._

_Kuai had not perceived what had happened next, only a flaring pain erupting on her face, and she cried out in pain, both hands flying up to cover her right eye. She removed her hands from her face, seeing the blood that covered her hands._

_Later, she would be thankful for the fact that she had closed her eyes (she had **blinked** ) on the downward stroke of the blade. At least she wouldn't be blinded in one eye._

_She had been permitted to leave afterward. Sub-Zero pushed her down from behind, walking past her fallen body. ”Next time, I'll **kill** you,” he threatened; a firm promise. He left her there on the ground._

_Kuai got back onto her feet quickly. The only thought in her mind was of the family that had escaped thanks to her. She could only see the love they had for each other, and now, they’d be able to continue expressing their love. And looking at the family, Kuai could already picture the others that she could help. Sub-Zero’s threat evaporated from her mind, and she smiled, going back to her room, no longer feeling the pain from the wound on her face._

**_Her hands no longer shook._ **

* * *

Kuai jolted awake, panting as she sat up in her bed, starting to sweat. She got off the bed, standing on the hardwood floor and started to walk aimlessly around the room in random circles, her hands wrapped behind her neck.

One thing that she had noticed was that recently, her nightmares had gotten a lot worse. This was giving her great stress since she hadn't had a good night’s sleep since three weeks ago. Kuai covered her face with her hands, groaning aloud. Even in death, she couldn't seem to shake the haunting memories and shadows that Bi-Han had cast on her life.

_Sometimes, I regret taking up his name._

Kuai walked over to the nightstand where the single picture sat, starting to collect dust. She picked up the frame, using the cuff of her sleeve to wipe the dust away before setting it back down, taking up the Medallion in her hand and turning it over and over again in her palm. 

The thing was a very curious item. Whenever Kuai held it in her hand, she could almost feel an otherworldly presence within the item that was not evil, but rather benign. It had a calming aura whenever she was hurt, much like in times like these.

Kuai wasn't sure whether this thing had once been a human or it was the Medallion itself, but whatever it was, she was thankful for it. She sighed, falling back down onto the bed in a drop-dead like method...

... only to hit the rock-solid ground.

Kuai groaned in pain, clutching her head in agony as she curled in on herself on the ground. Looking up, she noticed with a start that she was _definitely_ not in her bedroom. Instead, she was in a large city, which she was able to identify as New York with the recognizable Empire State Building, but there was something painstakingly amiss. 

"Where is everyone?" she muttered to no one but herself. 

The streets were dead silent. There was no sign of life, the windy gusts picking up newspapers and carrying them in the wind. Kuai walked slowly down the streets, before realizing that she was still in her blue silk pajamas, without any weapons or gear.

She frowned, taking in this disadvantage as she tried to think of something... and she grinned happily upon reaching a solution. She tore off the long legs of the pajama pants to make them into more practical shorts, using the cloth to wrap it around the lower half of her face, much like a bandanna. Upon seeing that she at least had the Dragon Medallion with her, another added advantage, she drew on its powers to form ice over her body, forming arm and shin guards. She smiled, nodding happily as she rolled up the sleeves to examine her new improvised gear.

Now feeling more at ease, Kuai continued on her way, creeping along steadily and silently through the abnormally silent city and trying to locate her friends. _Raiden must have identified a threat here and brought us here from our slumber. That is, of course, unless I'm dreaming again._ She continued to keep herself in cover, watching the tops of the skyscrapers for any watchers.

Suddenly, a loud-pitched cry penetrated the silence in the air, and Kuai whipped around to face the direction the noise had come from. _That must have been Jade or Kitana, but what got them?_ She quickly followed the source of the noise, hoping that the displaced others would have the sense to do the same.

She passed through Times Square, running quickly down the street and took cover again only before coming to Central Park. She peered from around the structure that was shielding her, and her eyes widened in shock and astonishment.

Kano and his Black Dragon goonies had taken over Central Park, and Kuai could easily picture what had happened. Tanks and stolen aircraft occupied the streets, and Kuai could easily guess that the civilians had taken refuge from the violence and chaos. To her dismay, not only Kitana and Jade had been captured, but Sonya had just received a backhand from Kano himself.

Kuai knew that rushing in herself would be suicide, and she needed help to help free the others. So, she waited in the shadows and observed what happened. 

"This is your last run, Sonya," Kano smirked ruthlessly. He played with his knife, throwing it this way and that tauntingly. "I say it's 'bout damn time."

The Special Forces soldier glared at the criminal with hate-filled eyes. "Fuck you, Kano. We've got others, and they'll free us just so that I can put a bullet between your eyes."

Kano feigned surprise. "Oh, oh really? Your _friends,_ comin' to save ya? Sorry, Luv. My boys have already gotten your little group of friends," he sneered.

Right on cue, Kuai watched in horror as a bruised and bloodied Johnny Cage was dragged by the arms, with Jax being forced along. He was openly struggling against his captors, trying to get to Johnny to help the severely injured ex-actor. But it was nowhere near finished.

Behind them, a knocked out Kenshi was carted in, wheeled in on a trolley of sorts and bound down with chains. Kuai noticed that the chains seemed to be giving off a red glow, and she remembered of Kano's alliance with Quan Chi. She narrowed her eyes. _Damn that sorcerer to the depths of hell._

The parade of all the captured was brought in, and Kuai was shocked to see Raiden himself in restraints. She reasoned quickly that he must have spent the last of his energy to get them here, and he was completely spent. She cursed as she spotted Liu Kang, who was trying to break away to join Kitana's side.

Kuai lost all hope of aid when she spotted Tomas and Cyrax cuffed, still blinking the sleep from their eyes. Kuai shook her head dejectedly. _We were all asleep and sent to different places; we didn't stand a chance._

And the last one to be brought in was none other than Hanzo Hasashi himself. He seemed to be just as hurt as Johnny, and Kuai noticed with a twisting feeling in her gut that he had been stabbed in the gut. Kano made his way forward, glaring at the men holding Hanzo upright.

"Who the hell did this? The boss was clear; no scratches on _this_ guy," he said, pointing rudely at the weakened Shirai Ryu. 

The Black Dragon goon holding Hanzo's right arm bowed nervously. "He gave up the most fight, Kano. He killed several others, and we had to use force."

Kano glared once, the red laser of the cybernetic eye glowing dangerously in an unspoken threat. "Don't do it again." He gestured to someone else, the henchman bringing a stone that Kuai could see was clearly enchanted.

Kano pressed it against Hanzo's wound, drawing it away quickly and Kuai watched in astonishment as the wound closed. Kano smirked arrogantly. "Like it? Somethin' I stole from a god of healing. Now, the goods are just fine." The stone dissolved in his hand, and he was back to his sour mood. Kuai reasoned that it had limited use. Kano made a singular gesture with his hand and the henchmen dragged Hanzo to the others who were bound in a pile.

The Black Dragon leader walked over to the assembly of defeated warriors, counting heads. He frowned, realizing that they were short of one. "We're missin' one!" he shouted so that everyone could hear. He cast one quick glance to the prisoners, before turning again. "It's that snowman guy! You guys," he said, pointing at a small group of men, "go find me my last prisoner. And don't come back until you do!"

As they started to leave, Kano's right-handed man came up to his side. "Why are we sending so few people?"

Kano smirked, confidence evident in his stance. "Think, idiot. The guy's gonna come here to get his friends. We can't let him free them, so we'll just stay here and wait for him to come."

Kuai frowned upon hearing and seeing this. She obviously could not just try to attack the Black Dragon; that'd be suicide. She'd have to think of something.

She examined her surroundings from her cover, trying to find a point of entry into their defenses. But no matter where she looked, it would be covered by a group of fifty men or a tank. She wanted to cry out in frustration but willed herself to keep cool and collected. She looked up briefly, pleading the gods for help when she noticed something. She squinted, frowning at the water tank up above.

And just like that, her plan started to form in her head.

* * *

"Did you see Kuai?" Tomas asked the group quietly.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao shook their heads simultaneously. "We were all scattered," Kung Lao whispered angrily. "How were we supposed to find each other?" Liu Kang did not say anything, holding Kitana close to him. 

Cyrax was still tense. They had been dropped in the city unceremoniously, without the means to defend themselves properly. Raiden had told them to prepare for anything, but the yellow-garbed Lin Kuei thought that he'd at least have the time to _sleep_ , for god's sake! 

Whilst the others worried about themselves and their friends, Hanzo, now fully healed but cuffed in specialized restraints, worried for Kuai's safety. The cuffs he was placed in had been enhanced by Quan Chi, and he could no longer access his wraith powers. He hoped that she'd have the sense to leave them and try to build defenses for Quan Chi's attack; he and the others were as good as dead.

Just then, Hanzo was jolted from his thoughts as he heard the sound of metal bending and his gaze snapped up, eyes widening at the sight.

"Oh, Elder Gods," Tomas groaned. "Please, don't do this, Kuai!"

The water tank fell to the ground but didn't explode. 

Kano laughed wildly at the lack of explosion from the tank. He gestured to his men to examine the tank, turning his back to the object. The men slowly approached the tank, and one knocked tentatively on the metal shell...

... and _then,_ it exploded. 

Metal scraps were sent flying in all directions, the water cascading outwards in a specific direction, towards the Black Dragon army. Kuai apparently had weakened the supports of the water tank, then had jumped into the tank and locked herself in, hitting the side of the tank to force it to fall. She had waited until she heard someone come near the tank, then chose to attack, emerging from the wreckage drenched in water. Her eyes glowed an ethereal bright blue, almost white, as she moved her hands in quick and fluid motions to manipulate the water.

As the water made contact with the soldiers, it covered their entire bodies and started to freeze quickly, trapping them in individual prisons of ice. Kuai's eyes stopped glowing when all the water had frozen, returning her eyes to their familiar brown and leaving Kano and seven other henchmen at his side.

The cybernetic eye dangerously glowed red. "Get him!" he roared, pointing at Kuai.

Kuai held out her palms, ice materializing and forming a sword. The men rushed at her, but she was easily able to cut them down, and soon she stood there, the last one alive in the fight. Kano sighed dramatically. "Well, ya know what they say; if ya want the job done, you've got to do it yourself."

He shot a laser at her from his eye, but Kuai retaliated by hurling an ice ball. The ice shattered as it made contact with the red beam, and with that, Kano charged, Kuai meeting his challenge.

Before she had charged forward, however, she had sent thin icicles that impaled the grassy terrain near the kombatants' feet. Tomas picked one up, frowning as he examined them. "What the hell... ?"

Cyrax's eyes lit up as he examined the other icy needles. They varied in width, length, and size, and he instantly recognized their intended purpose. "Lockpicks," he shouted at the others, and he turned around, drawing one up from the ground and tried to fit it into the keyhole of his cuffs.

Meanwhile, Kuai was engaged in kombat with Kano, dodging his reckless dives at her with his butterfly knives. She narrowed her eyes, gauging her opponent. _If I can time it just right..._ She waited for him to dive at her, and just before he hit her, she stepped backward, placing a replica of herself made of ice in her place. Kano's eyes widened but he was unable to stop as he hit the statue and fell to the ground, frozen like his other cronies. 

Making sure he was incapacitated, Kuai nodded in satisfaction and quickly made her way to help the others, starting with Kenshi. "Sorry about the wait," she said. She quickly froze the chains, snapping through them easily and helped the blind swordsman to his feet. He thanked her. "They caught me unawares, attacking me from behind as soon as I hit the ground," he explained. Kuai nodded solemnly. "We must ensure that this doesn't happen again," she said, leaving him to help the others.

She made her way to Johnny, who was still injured from his fight earlier. Kneeling to the ground, she glanced at Sonya. "How is he holding up?"

The usually stoic military woman had tears running down her face freely. "I don't know," she said, sobbing. "His pulse is slowing." Kuai quickly brought her two fingers to his carotid artery, frowning at how weak the pulse was. "Shit. We need to get him to a hospital."

Cyrax spoke up away from where Kuai and Sonya were. "We've got no immediate means of transportation. Raiden's out of juice, and there's no way that any of us will be able to break through Hanzo's cuffs without a heavy-duty saw. I don't even think your ice can get through this metal." Cyrax was well-informed on mechanisms and machinery, so Kuai took his judgment as the truth. 

Sonya sobbed even harder at his words, Jade placing a comforting hand on her shoulder in support. Kuai shook her head. _Not even a week into this shit, and we're already losing someone._ She looked at Sonya, clutching Johnny close to her chest and sniffling in the crook of his neck. Kuai immediately was thrown back to her past, when she had helped all those families escape, and she also thought of those she couldn't get to in time. _I can't have Johnny's blood on my hands. That's NOT who I am._

_**And yet, she knew that she could not do anything.** _

Kuai's hands were clenched, looking away to save herself the pain of watching one of her friends pass when she felt an unusual sensation crawl over her body. She quickly lifted her arms, eyes widening in shock and slight fear at the sight of the water covering her body. It had condensed, forming droplets and leaving her body, traveling through the air towards Johnny's unconscious body. As the water came near his body, the blood that had been expelled from his wounds and cuts rose with the water, intermingling with the water. Kuai saw that the water seemed to be purifying the blood that had been on the grassy earth of Central Park.

"What sorcery is this?" Kitana asked warily.

No one could answer, and Kuai kept her mind blank yet focused as she tried to keep the process going. Everyone watched as the cleansed blood entered Johnny's body again; at first, it had made a grotesque scene, but Kuai grew hopeful when she saw that after all the blood had returned to its host, the wounds closed themselves. Sonya gasped upon seeing this, and she gently shook Johnny.

The ex-actor groaned, rising up to a sitting form much to the surprise of the others watching. "Damn, that's a hell of a wake-up call, huh?" He looked around to the others' faces of shock and astonishment, the grin fading from his face. "What did I miss?"

"What is the last thing you remember, Johnny?" Liu Kang asked slowly. He frowned after hearing the question, pondering over his response. "Well, let's see. I woke up in the city next to a pissed off Jax, and we were trying to find you guys. We ran into Black Dragon guys, and I think I was really hurt." He looked down at his body, looking up quickly. "Wait, did Raiden heal me?"

Kung Lao shook his head. "Actually, we're kind of confused about that as well."

Kitana approached Kuai, brandishing her fan in its closed form. "What did you do, Lin Kuei? I was not aware that you practiced blood magic as well. It's a destructive form of dark magic!"

Tomas and Cyrax moved forward to defend her, but Hanzo got to her first. "Back off, princess," he growled. "I may be cuffed, but I still have ten other ways to break you into ten pieces."

Liu Kang glared at Hanzo upon the utterance of the threat and moved forward to defend his wife when Raiden intervened. "Kuai has gained more powers from the use of the Dragon Medallion. It was a trinket passed down from generation to generation in the once peaceful terrain of the cryomancers of Edenia. When they were exiled after Shao Kahn took over a millennia ago, they fled to Earthrealm and were wiped out by the Lin Kuei, where the Grandmaster got his hands on the Medallion as well as Kuai and Bi-Han. It expands a cryomancer's ability to wield _all_ forms of ice. The easiest to wield is the solid ice itself because it is materialistic and has a physically defined shape. The next hardest element of ice to control is liquid or water. You saw Kuai Liang wield the water with the water tank, and water as an element has healing qualities. Blood is also mainly water, so it makes sense that Kuai would be able to control it."

Hanzo frowned, thinking deeply. "So eventually, would he be able to wield air as well?"

Raiden nodded immediately. "Yes. That is the hardest form of ice to wield for any cryomancer with the abilities of the Medallion. It is everywhere and can be overwhelming at times for a cryomancer to wield. Yet, there have been a few accounts from cryomancers who have been able to manipulate the air. The strongest cryomancer known in our records was said to have been able to restrict the ability for someone to breathe."

Kuai held up her hands. Her head was starting to get woozy from all this information. "Wait. I don't even know what I did to do what I just did! I've only been able to manipulate the water with the tank before through practice in the bathtub. What happened with Johnny was completely out of my control!"

Tomas frowned. "The bathtub?"

Raiden ignored the comment, pressing forward. "And yet, you accomplished this. My guess is that your emotions became so great that all you wanted was to save him, and so the Medallion complied. We'll have to help you expand your control and power when we get back. I'm actually surprised that you haven't suffered any damage from the exertion!"

Hanzo stiffened. "What damage?"

The Thunder God hesitated briefly. "There is a cost to wielding the Medallion. It was meant to be held by a specific bloodline of royalty in the cryomancer bloodline. Anyone else who uses it will sustain an injury of some sort. It can be either physical or mental. Mental occurrences are less likely, though, so I don't think that should be a problem."

Kuai thought back to earlier that night. "Do waking nightmares count as a sign of this mental problem?"

Raiden shook his head. "No. I'm talking about serious mental issues, including mania and other... less desirable outcomes. What you dream about, Kuai Liang, is not due to the Medallion. Rather, it is your childhood trauma that haunts you." He stared off into the distance. "I wonder..." He only mused, however, and did not elaborate. 

Kuai only nodded, the information whirling around in her mind. It was all so much that had been said by the Thunder God, and she was so confused. And not only that, but her vision was still blurring, and it was starting to annoy her. As she became more frustrated, the world suddenly began to tilt, and Kuai felt extremely light-headed.

She heard someone call out her name before her vision turned dark and she fell to the earth.


	6. Two Sides (make up the same coin)

Cyrax had been the one to catch Kuai as she had fallen forward. She slumped in his arms, and from the side, Hanzo could see that she was unresponsive. This only raised his concern.

Quickly, Raiden made his way to her side as Cyrax lay her unconscious body on the ground, holding his hands over her with a blue light coming from his palms. He leaned back, sighing in relief. ”Kuai Liang has fainted from exhaustion. It appears the aforementioned nightmares have been keeping him awake, and he hasn’t been getting as much sleep as he should be getting.”

Hanzo frowned, looking down at Kuai lying unconscious on the ground. Sure, he had his nightmares, but none of them came close to completely barring him from sleep. If these nightmares were causing the Lin Kuei Grandmaster to lose sleep, then this was a lot more serious than Raiden was making it out to be. He knelt to her level, placing his bound hands near her mouth and nose, monitoring the intake of breath in and out. He withdrew his hands, alarmed.

”He’s barely breathing!” he exclaimed, looking around wildly for help.

Sonya immediately went into action, going to a nearby car and smashed the driver's side window in. She opened the door, sweeping the glass shards outside as she dislodged a panel, fiddling with the wires. Moments later, after cutting and rearranging some of them, the car sputtered to life. Sonya ran back to the group, picking up Kuai's feet. "Grab her shoulders," she ordered, "and let's get her to the hospital."

Minutes later, Hanzo watched helplessly as Kuai was wheeled in on a stretcher and brought into a hospital room, the white doors closing with a resounding slam. 

Behind him, Tomas slowly placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. ”She’ll be fine,” he said under his breath. ”Let’s try to find something to cut through those cuffs.” Hanzo nodded, slowly and reluctantly turning away from the door where Kuai and the rest of the kombatants had disappeared into.

They descended the building

Soon, Hanzo found himself back outside at a construction site, the once-abandoned city now coming back to life as the streets started to fill up. Tomas emerged from the steel frames, grinning triumphantly and held up what looked to Hanzo like a power saw. ”Turn around and hold still,” he advised Hanzo, who did as he was told.

The power saw buzzed, and when it made contact with the metal, the grinding sound increased. Tomas shouted over the noise. ”Hey, just as a curious friend, are you interested in my friend?”

Hanzo frowned despite being able to hear the enenra. ”What?!”

Tomas repeated what he said, followed with an added remark, ”I’ve been trying to hook her up with someone, and she seems the most comfortable around you. So, are you?”

The saw came to a stop, and Hanzo brought his hands around, free of the restraints. He fixed Tomas with a glare. ”What kind of friend conspires on their private life behind their back?” he asked in a normal voice.

Tomas shrugged. ”Nevermind, then. I'll try asking Johnny.”

Hanzo stiffened, somehow insulted by the comment before thinking about it logically. He was already with Sonya and Tomas had probably only said that just to get a rise out of him...

... and he finally noticed Tomas’ shit-eaten grin.

No one had to know that he ended up punching the Lin Kuei in the face.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, at the Hospital..._ **

Cyrax rushed in tandem with the paramedics who were being in Kuai in, watching as they hooked her up to a machine. He was extremely worried about her and tried to stay as close to her as he could. One of the nurses held an oxygen mask, moving forward to remove Kuai's makeshift mask...

”Wait!” Cyrax moved forward to stop them. “You can’t take that off.”

One of the medics frowned. “Sir, we need to make sure that your friend is getting the air they need. Please, step back.”

Cyrax glanced behind him, seeing the other kombatants in the room with him. He gulped nervously, looking down at Kuai. _I'm sorry, my friend._ He looked at the ground, the shocked murmurs filling the room.

At that moment, Hanzo and Tomas returned, pushing through the white doors. Hanzo immediately took in the faces of the kombatants, Cyrax’s dejected face, and immediately looked towards Kuai.

Her hair had been pulled out from the back of her shirt, the long hair flowing around her on the pillow. The oxygen mask, though covering her face, was transparent and thus anyone could see that she was...

”What the fuck?” Johnny whispered, stepping backward and scratching his head in confusion. 

Kitana turned to Raiden. ”Care to explain this, Thunder God? The Lin Kuei can not be trusted. Every word from them is a lie!”

Hanzo moved forward, trying to make himself seem as menacing as possible. ”Shut up, spoiled brat! From what I recall, Kuai Liang saved us from the Black Dragon, and so now you owe her.”

The Outworld Kahnum narrowed her eyes. ”We can not work with others who keep secrets.”

Sonya, who had been silent this entire time, finally spoke up. ”Does it matter? Face it, she probably had a good reason to keep this a secret from us. And I'm sure that she was planning to tell us eventually. We only have ourselves to blame for assuming she was a guy.”

Hanzo was relieved that she had spoken, as he saw Cage, Briggs, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao nodding in agreement. However, looking at Kitana and Jade next to her, Hanzo could feel the resentment emitting from them. Hanzo guessed that Jade might have fancied Sub-Zero at one time, but with this discovery, she was angry.

_**He'd have to keep an eye on them.** _

Kenshi added to Sonya’s comment. ”It was Lin Kuei tradition for the women to give birth to children and raise the next generation of warriors. I think that Kuai, at a very young age, saw that she had no future in that life, so she hid and disguised herself as a male amongst the Lin Kuei’s ranks. She lived her whole life, hiding in fear of getting caught. Now that she's free from the Lin Kuei, she's probably feeling overwhelmed with what she can do. And confessing something that would have otherwise resulted in death...” Kenshi explained, pausing to let the thought sink in. ”She was probably _terrified_ to tell us.”

Hanzo nodded, trying to convince the others to let the issue be. ”Only Cyrax and Smoke knew,” he began, ”because Kuai could trust them. They were her childhood friends. Kenshi knew because of his power. Raiden always knew. I recently found out when I was taking care of her broken leg, and when I found out, she suffered from a panic attack.” He glared at the others. ”And if anyone has a problem with that, feel free to take it up with _me.”_

He added the last part with a heated glare, crossing his arms defiantly as Raiden raised his palms for peace. “Let us not fight over this. Respect Kuai Liang’s decision, and help each other to prepare for the war.”

Tomas’ stomach grumbled, the noise making everyone jump. He shrugged in defense. ”What? It's breakfast time. I'm hungry.”

Jax shook his head, an amused smile breaking on his normally-stoic face. ”Come on, then. You can tell me what it was like growing up with Sub-Zero.”

Upon hearing that, the curiosity of the kombatants urged them to follow Tomas out, heading to the hospital cafeteria. Raiden ensured that Kuai was in the hands of capable people before heading out to join the others. While he had known that Kuai was a girl, he did not know anything about his kombatants’ personal lives and sought to learn more about the mysterious Lin Kuei Grandmaster.

He joined the others, sitting down. He had regained a portion of his strength and was able to cast an illusion to make them all seem like normal citizens. 

Tomas munched on his sandwich, Cyrax milk drinking from a small carton. ”So,” Tomas said after swallowing his food, ”Where should we begin?”

”From the beginning,” Sonya suggested, leaning in with interest.

Cyrax nodded. ”The old Lin Kuei was an organization only concerned about increasing its status. They kidnapped children from small villages and wiped out the adults. The children were raised to become soldiers, and the cycle repeated.”

Tomas nodded in agreement. ”Cyrax and most of the Lin Kuei warriors were brought in as newborns, as was the custom. It was easier to brainwash infants than children who already had a taste of domestic life, you know? But it was different with Kuai and Bi-Han.”

Cyrax picked up the story. ”Kuai was five years old when she was brought in, and Bi-Han was seven. They had been taken from an isolated village of cryomancers. I think they were one of the last living groups of cryomancers. The reason the Grandmaster brought them in was solely for their abilities. He sought to use their ice-wielding powers and train them to be deadly warriors. I'm going to let Tomas talk from now on because he was much closer to Kuai than I was.”

Tomas quickly continued the narrative. ”I came to the Lin Kuei about a year after Kuai was brought in. I was also five years old when I was brought in, because of my enenra abilities. Because we were both the same age, we quickly became friends. She was young, and she trusted me easily and told me that she was a girl. I promised to keep her secret, and I did.”

”Her relationship with her brother was... strange to me at first,” Tomas admitted. ”Anywhere he went, she’d follow. If he said something was bad, she’d never do it. I think she practically worshipped him, but...” He drifted off in thought, looking out the window to the bustling streets of New York. ”Something happened.”

”Kuai never explicitly told me what had happened, but I believe something happened when Bi-Han returned from his first mission. He came back... changed. And from that moment on, Kuai avoided him at all costs. She was constantly looking behind her back, paranoid that he was somewhere near. And I got the feeling that she was afraid of him.”

”And then with _our_ first mission, we were sent to destroy a village and take any children suitable for our cause. It was horrible. Kuai and I only watched as the others set fire to the buildings. Just as the job was being finished, she heard the sound of a child crying, and she dragged me with her to this burning hut. There was a family inside, and I was about to do what the Lin Kuei had ordered us to do when she stopped me. I think she saw herself in the children’s situation, and she convinced me to help them escape.”

”But Bi-Han had seen everything, and he reported us to the Grandmaster. We were both brought in, and I thought we were going to be executed when Kuai told the Grandmaster that she had _forced_ me to help her and that she would have killed me if I didn't do as she said. I left, like the coward I was,” he said, glaring sullenly at his hands resting on the table.

Cyrax patted his back. ”There was nothing you could have done. Kuai just didn't want you to suffer alongside her, so she got you out. In her eyes, that was worth it.”

Tomas nodded slowly, starting to pick up again. ”She came back with a scar over her eye and a rebellious attitude. She was convinced that her purpose in the Lin Kuei was to aid the unfortunate families of the attacks and help them escape. There was nothing I could do to convince her otherwise. She was determined, and I was in for the ride.”

”We freed many more people: sparing men, women, and children from their fates, but Kuai always kept telling me that it wasn't enough. But we couldn't do anything else without risking our death, although we did pull a couple of risky pranks when we were younger that gave us the satisfaction of seeing the others humiliated. And then when Kuai heard that Bi-Han had gotten killed in the tournament, the stress of her secrets combined with the love that she still had for her brother got us out of the Lin Kuei and to you guys, where you pretty much know everything from there,” Tomas finished.

Johnny nodded thoughtfully. ”That sucks.”

Kenshi moved forward. ”With this in mind, I'd like to point out how the fear of punishment has loomed over Kuai’s mind. We can not be resentful; rather, we should be grateful that she has opened up to us as much as she already has. I am most worried about when she wakes up. I am still uncertain about how she will react to this. I would advise all of you to be supportive and encourage her that this is a natural thing.”

Jade scowled. ”Of course it is a normal thing!”

Hanzo was tempted to smack some sense into the emerald assassin but halted himself. He resorted to his trademark glare. ”It’s not normal for her. She's just now discovering how to live like the rest of us. Learning about books, music, movies, these things that seem normal to you are new to her.”

Sonya smiled, thinking of the possibilities. ”Huh. I could take her shopping sometime.”

Tomas nodded eagerly. ”Yeah! We've never been. Take me with you, too!”

Sonya looked over to Johnny and Jax. ”You two can hang out with Tomas at the mall while I take Kuai to do girl things.” She turned to the others. ”Think about it! We could do so many fun things for the sole purpose of exposing Kuai to these things.”

Raiden cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. ”I would like to remind you that we are here for a specific purpose.” Sonya waved him off. ”Of course. We'll still be focused on our stuff, but in our free time, we can do these things. It'll be fun!”

Liu Kang stared off into the distance. ”I can't believe I didn't see it,” he muttered. Kung Lao comforted his friend. ”She’s been doing this her whole life. It's okay to miss something like that.”

”Um, Mr. Cage?”

Everyone sitting at the table turned to face a timid nurse, holding a clipboard. She cleared her throat nervously. ”We’ve finished looking over your friend. It's peculiar. She appeared to be in a semi-comatose state, but now her vitals are stable and back to normal. May I ask what happened?”

Johnny opened his mouth, ready to answer when Sonya interrupted him, placing her hand on his arm. ”Sorry. It's classified,” she said with a friendly smile.

The nurse nodded, leaving respectfully. Sonya patted Johnny’s arm. ”You take it easy. You've had your own near-death experience, too.” He smiled gently to her, making him seem a lot more mature to Hanzo. ”Alright.”

Raiden’s eyes had followed the nurse as she left, drifting deep into the recesses of his mind. He stood up, oblivious to the questioning looks from the kombatants. 

”What is on your mind, Lord Raiden?” Liu Kang asked in concern. 

The Thunder God looked down at the seated warriors. ”I have been puzzling over Kuai’s ability to wield the Medallion without suffering from pain. I have made it a point to monitor her health as she continued to use the item, but she has not been injured at all.”

Kenshi cleared his throat. ”There is only one logical conclusion,” he said, turning his head to face Raiden directly.

Raiden shook his head. ”The chances of that happening are nigh impossible. That bloodline was wiped out years ago!”

Jax raised his hands. "Whoa, slow down. What the fuck are you talking about?"

Kenshi answered the confused assembly. "Kuai and Bi-Han are cryomancers, but their race did not originate in Earthrealm. The cryomancer line came from Outworld, where they lived isolated lives with their own separate rulers. When Shao Kahn took over Edenia and merged it with Outworld, they were exiled from their homeland as Raiden had expressed earlier at Central Park. However, as they created new civilizations, the royal bloodline of cryomancers splintered, the many family members heading their separate ways. Then, on one occasion, they all reunited for a reunion banquet in celebration of Princess Celeste's pregnancy. Their assembly was attacked by the neighboring Lin Kuei, and they slaughtered everyone. Or at least, that was what we were led to believe. Upon further examination, there has been no concrete proof to validate the death of Princess Celeste."

Raiden crossed his arms. "And she was never found again, Kenshi. She could have died some other way as well!"

Kenshi leaned back in his seat. "And yet, there is the possibility that if she did escape, and if she did give birth..."

The Earthrealm God shook his head. ”Do not give me false hope, Kenshi.” The blind swordsman pressed on, refusing to let the idea die. ”And yet, there is no other explanation. Only members of the royal bloodline can wield the Medallion without obtaining any kind of injury." He paused, a smile growing on his face. "The Dragon Medallion is like Sento; as the blade holds the souls of my ancestors, so does the Medallion. If the souls of the Medallion identify Kuai Liang as one of the royal bloodline, then we have a whole other problem on our hands.”

Raiden seemed troubled, eventually drawing out the Medallion from his pocket. He had nicked it from Kuai’s unconscious body in the medbay before he left her alone to ensure no one stole the precious artifact. He placed it in the center of the table, sliding it forward to Kenshi. ”Do what you must.”

Kenshi looked around. ”Is the illusion still active?” At Raiden’s nod, he continued, drawing Sento from its sheath. The blade glowed blue, and Kenshi hovered it over the Medallion, hands tightening in concentration.

Suddenly, blue apparitions began to emerge from the artifact, materializing into human beings. Hanzo realized that their clothing was ancient, the long flowing robes written in a language Hanzo did not recognize. There were nine figures, one woman and eight men, and they all began to speak in unison.

”Greetings, Defenders of Earthrealm. Why have you come to us?”

Kenshi bowed once in respect looking up to face them. “Cryomancer ancestors, I come to you with a burning question that only you can answer. Why have you chosen Kuai Liang as your successor?”

“Kuai Liang has proved herself worthy of wielding the Medallion by sparing the lives of the innocent families from the Lin Kuei. That, coupled with the immense and unusual strength of her power, appealed to us. That is why we chose her over her brother.”

Raiden stepped forward. “And why has Kuai Liang not suffered any damage from wielding your Medallion?”

They all turned to face him. ”Kuai Liang is the great-granddaughter of the last survivor of our bloodline, Princess Celeste.”

Raiden reeled back in shock. ”So then the rumors are true? All of them, including the prophecy that is tied to her name?”

” _The shadows will be brought to the light. Brother fights sister in Earth’s plight. The eternal night ends as the sun arrives, but only one will leave the conflict alive._ ” With that, they dissolved into a blue mist, retreating into the Medallion. It lay there, unmoving.

Raiden took back the Medallion, pocketing it and stepped back, arms crossed as he thought. Kenshi sheathed Sento, sitting back down with a troubled aura emitting from his body.

”What just happened?” Tomas demanded. ”What did they say?”

Kenshi looked at Tomas’ general direction. ”There's a prophecy that falls on the wielder of the Medallion at this time. In the battle, Kuai is destined to fight her brother when Quan Chi attacks. She will lose and die.”

Tomas’ jaw fell open. “WHAT?!”

Cyrax shook his head. ”There’s got to be some mistake. Bi-Han is dead!”

Raiden corrected him. ”No, Cyrax. Just as I was able to revive you, Quan Chi got to Bi-Han first, twisting his aspirations to turn him into Noob Saibot. Now, Bi-Han revels in his undead form.”

”What is his goal, Lord Raiden?” Kung Lao asked quietly. The Thunder God sighed. ”To kill his sister.”

Hanzo felt the air leave his body. This was getting out of hand too fast. Kuai was a direct descendant of an ancient Cryomancer royalty bloodline, and her brother was out to finish what he had tried to do. 

”She endangers the whole mission,” Kitana said firmly. ”Send her back to the Lin Kuei.”

Hanzo was tempted to agree for once with her. If Kuai was destined to die, he wanted to get her as far away from there as possible.

_**But why did he care so much?** _

Cyrax, for the first time, openly glared at the Kahnum of Outworld. ”That’s not happening. As Kuai says, ’No one gets left behind’. We will help her and protect her. Surely, this prophecy is not yet written in stone. All prophecies are ambiguous and can have multiple meanings. What if it is Bi-Han who falls instead?”

Tom's pulled Cyrax down. ”You know that Kuai would never raise a hand against him. She'd let him kill her just so that she wouldn't have to kill him. Maybe we should send her back to the Lin Kuei.”

Liu Kang shook his head. ”No. Kuai Liang must stay. Despite your hopeful outlook, Cyrax, prophecies _are_ destined to become true. However, we have the ability to shape it to our advantage. Either way, Kuai will come to the fight whether we stop her or not. In any case, she will end up on that battlefield fighting Bi-Han. What we _can_ change is how well she does.”

Kung Lao nodded fervently. ”Exactly! It is better to send her into battle with the proper training of her new powers than to send her in untrained.”

Sonya nodded, putting an end to the debate. ”She’s staying, then. What do we tell her?”

Raiden looked up quickly. ”Do not tell her of Bi-Han or the prophecy. If she knows of either thing, the timeline will splinter off into a different direction, and we will lose our advantage in the fight. Things must progress naturally from now on.”

”Sorry to interrupt...”

The nurse was back, a nervous smile on her face as she stood before the warriors. ”... but your friend is starting to stir. She'll be waking soon; if you come with me, I can bring you in to see her.” 


	7. I'm in the Shit Now (but it only gets better, right?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference later in this chapter:
> 
> Eirwenella (air-wen-ella)  
> Lumi (loo-mi)  
> Glaciana (gla-si-ana)

Kuai woke up to a familiar bright light, groaning upon realizing where she was.

Getting up, she threw the covers off her body and sat upright with her legs over the edge. Thinking over what had happened to land her back into the hospital, she recounted what had happened after her fight with Kano, belatedly coming to the realization...

Her hands flew to her face, noting the absence of the cloth that had served as a temporary mask. She stood abruptly and turned around, grabbing a mirror from the surgical table and brought it to her face.

Her long hair without its band fell loosely around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide in her reflection, seeing that her identity was at risk. 

Setting the mirror back down quickly, Kuai steadied herself, willing herself to take deep breaths before she sent herself into another panic attack...

The sound of the door swinging open, followed by sunlight seeming in was enough to make her freeze.

Kuai slowly turned around, panic welling up against a mental dam as she came face-to-face with her companions, Sonya at the forefront of the group. She locked eyes with the Special Forces general for a split second, before Kuai fell to the ground, pulling down the surgical table with her on the way down. Her breathing was labored, and Sonya could see that Kuai was struggling to intake air.

Tomas pushed past Sonya, rushing to Kuai’s side. The cryomancer was sitting, legs sprawled out underneath her, leaning against the bottom frame of the hospital stretcher she had just been lying in moments before.

”Hey, it's okay, Kuai,” Tomas said soothingly, arms raised in the air in comfort.

Cyrax started to move forward as more people entered the room, but Hanzo pushed him back as he ran to Tomas and Kuai.

Sliding into action, the Shirai Ryu shoved Tomas to the side. ”Breathe, Kuai,” the Shirai Ryu said in a firm yet soothing voice, as soon as he had gotten to her. He placed his hands on either side of her face, keeping her eyes locked on his. ”Breathe with me. In... Out... In... Out...”

While he laid out the pattern of breaths for Kuai to take, he propped her up to sit straighter, placing a hand on her back and rubbing it in slow, gentle circles. 

Tomas looked over at Hanzo. ”How did you know what to do?” he asked, slightly in awe.

Hanzo didn't take his eyes off Kuai for a second, yet still responded. ”Kenshi did the same for me when this happened. It never got this bad for me whenever it happened, though.” His hand continued to rub circles on her back, and he could see her start to settle down, the panicked light leaving her eyes.

"Are you okay now?" Hanzo asked softly.

She gulped in air, her hands shaking violently. She looked down, "Better," she replied, getting shakily onto her feet with Hanzo's and Tomas' help. Hanzo moved her so that she was sitting down on the stretcher, and he sat down next to her.

Sonya was the first to walk up to Kuai's side. "Hey," she said gently, a rare smile on her face, "everything is going to be alright. I can't imagine what it would be like to be put in your shoes, but I probably would have done the same thing. No one is judging you." 

From the group of others, Johnny yelped as he was pushed forward, and Kenshi and Jax stepped around him, making their way to join Sonya and Kuai. Kenshi knelt on the ground before Kuai, taking her shaking hands. "It's okay, Kuai. You're in a safe place; the Grandmaster is dead and can't hurt you anymore." She took her hands back and covered her face, starting to sob. 

"I didn't want to do it like this," she cried, her voice muffled by her hands. "I wanted to tell it to all of you face-to-face, not like this." 

"Some things in life don't go out the way we plan them too," Jax said, standing tall beside her. "But we're not angry or upset with you. It was your life, and you didn't have to tell us at all. I'm just happy that you trusted us enough to plan on telling us in the future."

"Yeah!" Johnny said, sliding in to sit next to Kuai. "I mean, I love women!"

Most of the room groaned at his comment.

Sonya reached around Kuai's back to punch Johnny's arm, eliciting a cry of protest. Hanzo was more concerned about how close he was to Kuai, and he shoved the Hollywood star away, frowning at how close he was to her. "Give her space."

Johnny raised his hands in surrender. "What I'm _trying_ to say is that I don't care if your a guy or a girl; you saved my ass today, so thank you."

Kuai brought her hands down, wiping the tears from her face, eyes red from crying. "Thanks, guys." She exhaled loudly. "I've been kind of feeling overwhelmed recently. I don't normally break down like this."

Liu Kang frowned. "It's not healthy to bottle up your emotions like this. You need to let them all out every now and then."

Sonya wrapped an arm around Kuai's side. "It's okay. We're gonna get you through this. Let's get the hell out of here, and maybe we can get you some ice-cream on the way back."

Kuai nodded, standing up slowly and breathing in a shaky breath. She frowned, turning to Sonya. "Ice-cream? Is that another ice pun?"

"..."

"What... You've never had ice-cream before?!" Kung Lao asked, amazed at this revelation.

Kuai looked around. "I don't understand. Is this some form of medical treatment? Another name for an ice pack?"

Tomas shook his head. "Kuai was always watched by the Grandmaster, so she doesn't know as many 'normal' things as I do. At least I know what fucking ice-cream is," he said, muttering the last part to himself.

Sonya pushed past the others, taking action and heading to the door. "We're going to Baskin Robbins. This is an emergency."

* * *

"How the hell do you Americans come up with such weird-ass things?" Kuai grumbled. "This literally looks like shit."

There were chuckles around the circular table. "That's just chocolate," Cyrax noted. "Here, try this. This is strawberry." Kuai took the cup from him, the pink color appealing to her more than... whatever _that_ was. "How do you and Tomas know about these things, anyway?" Kuai fixed a perplexed look onto the both of them. "I don't even remember seeing you with these things."

Tomas scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... we just snuck out while you were being punished." Kuai rolled her eyes. "Of course. Why did I even ask?" She sampled the cold pink treat, chewing thoughtfully.

Hanzo watched subtly from the sidelines, standing up and leaning against a wall of the ice-cream parlor. He observed her facial expressions change; her nose scrunched up like a bunny's when she reacted to the coldness, her eyes widened quickly at the sweetness, and then her face became blank again, all in the blink of an eye. 

Sonya leaned in, eager to gauge a reaction from her. "Well? How is it?"

Kuai shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "It's a lot colder than I thought it was going to be. Let me try this one. What was this, again?" 

"It's chocolate," Kenshi answered, with an amused look on his face, clearly entertained with the entire process. 

Kuai shook her head. "As if I'm supposed to know what that is."

Johnny snapped his head to look at her, turning away from his conversation with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. "You're joking, right? Please tell me that was a joke." Kuai raised her arms in the air. "I don't know _shit!_ What do you people want from me?!"

Raiden stood up from his seat, interrupting their conversation. "I'm going to stop us here before we go all over the world to do things. I have generated enough power to bring us back to our base of operations. We will leave now."

A chorus of groans filled the air, as Tomas reached over to grab the cup of strawberry ice-cream. Kuai promptly slapped his hand away. "I'm still eating this; hands off!" Tomas snorted, stepping away from her and towards the others gathered near Raiden. "I think you liked that a lot more than you were letting on." Kuai chuckled in response, not giving him an answer as the group disappeared from the bustling streets of New York.

Unlike last time, however, the landing did not go as smoothly as it should have gone. Kuai fell to the ground, the air leaving her body as she hit the floor and lay on her back. When she had fallen, there had been a weight above her, and she struggled to replace the lost air. Groaning, she clutched her head, looking up to see what had happened.

"Umm..." Kuai held her hands up slightly to her sides in a display of uncertainty. "Could you get off me, please?"

Hanzo Hasashi blinked once, looking down and realized that he had fallen on top of Kuai. He scrambled quickly to remove himself from her, trying to apologize in incoherent words. Kuai noticed that his face was tinged red in embarrassment. _How cute. **Wait, what?!**_

She coughed to clear her thoughts and the tension between the two. Looking around, Kuai realized that they had landed in the clearing in the woods, the same spot where Hanzo had attacked Kuai in the night. "We should get back to the others," Kuai said, finally breaking the silence. Hanzo didn't answer her, but nodded instead, the blush now gone from his face. They walked side-by-side on the cobblestone path back towards the house where they knew the others would be waiting for them. 

"Thank you."

Hanzo visibly reacted in surprise to Kuai's sudden words, looking at her in confusion. "What for, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kuai sighed, looking ahead as they continued to pass through the forestry. "For... everything, really. For agreeing to this alliance, for promising to keep my secret, even though it didn't stay a secret for long. You've helped me a lot, and looking at where we were about a week ago, I know that it must be strange for you to be in this position, being so friendly with me. So, thank you for not taking the easy way out and continuing to hate me."

He didn't say anything, only continuing to walk with her as the unseen birds in the canopies of the trees sang their unique melodies. Just as the house could be seen through the branches of the trees, he spoke again. 

"It has not been as unusual as you may think. To tell you the truth, I have been relieved to put this petty rivalry behind us, to start anew. And conversing with you as a colleague, as a friend, has not been forced on my part; I feel as though I have been speaking to a friend I have had for years," he admitted. "I do not regret anything that has happened after our fight in these woods, Kuai Liang. Do not let any doubt get into your head."

Kuai nodded, a tentative smile breaking out onto her face. "Right. Thank you."

They came out of the woods and stepped onto the driveway of the house, walking up the gravel slope to the front door. Kuai looked up once she saw movement flickering from her peripheral vision, eyes widening in shock and horror as she saw Liu Kang and Johnny standing on the roof. Hanzo cupped a hand over his eyes, providing a visor against the sunlight. "What the hell?" The ex-actor waved his hands wildly. "Hey! Could you give us a hand?"

Kuai held out her hands, concentrating as ice began to solidify from one edge of the roof, sloping downwards to the ground and creating a makeshift slide. "Does that work?" she yelled up to them. 

Johnny appeared to give two thumbs up in reply. "Yeah! Thanks!" he shouted back. 

Hanzo turned around as Kuai watched her two friends come down, fretting over their every move. Tomas and Cyrax had appeared, twigs and small branches visibly stuck in Tomas' long locks of silver hair. He glared at Hanzo, the look almost rivaling his own. _Keyword "almost."_

"Don't ask," Tomas threatened, pointing a finger at Hanzo. Cyrax stifled his laughter behind a fist, not managing to fully hide his full grin. 

"He got caught in a tree," Cyrax explained, ignoring the dirty looks Tomas was throwing him, "He fell from the sky, and got caught on the branches. I had to climb up and help him down; it was great." Tomas whacked the back of his head, but Hanzo could tell that the African Lin Kuei didn't regret it.

"What happened here?" Tomas asked, gesturing behind Hanzo.

"Johnny and Liu Kang got stuck on the roof," the Shirai Ryu replied. "Kuai's helping them down."

Cyrax raised a brow. "Since when did you start referring to her by her first name?"

Hanzo scowled. "We buried our rivalry. Is there a problem?"

Both Tomas and Cyrax exchanged a knowing look, Tomas turning to face Hanzo first. "You like her, don't you?" Hanzo rolled his eyes, crossing his arms at the question. "For fuck's sake, are we really doing this _again?!"_

Cyrax nodded slowly. "Oh yeah, I see what you were saying, Tomas. He's got it _bad."_

Hanzo threw his arms into the air in frustration. "Please, enlighten me as to what makes you think I am attracted to her."

Tomas lifted his left hand, using his right index finger to count off the reasons. "First, there's the goo-goo eyes that you always have every time you look at her. It started a couple of days ago, while you were taking care of her with her broken leg. Second, there's your attitude towards what she does. If someone insults or threatens her, you always go up to defend her. Third, you're really bad at hiding your _jelly-"_

Hanzo shook his head, the information coming at him quickly. "Hold on, what do you mean, _'jelly'?"_

Tomas huffed. "You're _jealous._ When Cage got too close to her, you were quick to push him away, especially since I made that comment at the construction site when I got those cuffs off of you. Now, stop interrupting me! _Fourth,_ you do everything you can to spend your time with her. Alone. And fifth, your face is red right now," he said, adding the last part with a smirk on his face.

Hanzo was indeed put off by the influx of details that the two male Lin Kuei had picked up on, and he quickly composed himself, choosing to fix a glare on them both. Cyrax raised his hands in surrender. "Hold up, man. I mean, truth be told, it's not obvious. You've got to be _really_ looking to notice."

"Notice what?" Kuai asked, stepping in to join their conversation.

Hanzo almost jumped, but resisted the urge to, laughing in his head when Tomas was unable to stop himself. "Uh... notice that your eyes turned blue before you passed out," Tomas stuttered, pulling an excuse out of thin air.

Kuai fixed him with a suspicious look, eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. "Yeah... whatever. It looks like the others are coming. I should ask Raiden about what I should do with these powers; I need the proper training to use it in battle." She walked away to greet the others who had come back, Hanzo watching her leave.

Cyrax shook his head. "Not goo-goo eyes, Tomas. More like star-struck."

Tomas tilted his head, nodding quickly in agreement. "Shit, you're right."

Hanzo glared at them, raising a fist threateningly. **_"If you two don't shut up-"_**

* * *

Kuai followed Raiden to the backward after he instructed her to do so, the other kombatants lingering behind yet still following curiously.

The Thunder God stepped out the back door, walking out onto the grassy yard and beckoned Kuai to join him. She slowly walked forward, unsure of what was going on. "What are we doing, Raiden?" He fixed his electric white eyes on her. "Testing to see how far you can go without exerting yourself. Show me what you were able to do without the Medallion."

Kuai removed the Medallion from her person, handing it over to the god as he instructed Liu Kang to face her. She fixed her armguards, having retrieved her gear before she stepped outside. Readying herself, she placed her right hand in the palm of her left hand, bowing respectfully as Liu Kang mirrored her movements. She got into her stance, eyes narrowing in concentration.

Liu Kang struck first, hurling a fireball. Kuai, however, in her constant training after reforming the Lin Kuei had been able to teach herself how to use her small feminine body to her advantage. She easily sidestepped the fire, spinning and hurling an ice ball back in retaliation. Liu Kang leaned to the side, avoiding it as she had. While he was distracted with the ice projectile, Kuai slid in to attack, stopping herself before him and throwing a punch to his gut.

He was able to recover quickly, blocking the blow in time and tried to punish her overextension with a chop to the neck. Kuai immediately recognized this, however, and escaped with a backflip, her foot catching the underside of Liu Kang's chin on the way back. His head snapped back with the force, but he recovered quickly, watching Kuai carefully. 

"You've been training," he noted. "Your new style definitely fits your body; lithe, agile, and flexible." Kuai grinned wildly, the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "I've been expanding on it the past few years," she explained, throwing her palm open towards him. However, instead of an ice ball, a blue beam shot from her hand, and Liu Kang had to move to avoid it. 

Kuai had also been taken aback by what she had done without the Medallion, but both she and Liu Kang recovered from their shock quickly enough to meet each other in the middle of the terrain. He tried to utilize a low leg sweep to trip her, but Kuai simply jumped over it, forming an ice sword as she landed. She swung it at Liu Kang, who was forced backward with every strike. Seeing that she was getting nowhere and would eventually tire out, Kuai crushed the ice weapon, trying to do a leg sweep of her own.

However, Liu Kang evaded her strike, throwing a punch as she tried to rise up. Kuai blocked it, using her forearms to push against the force of his blow to slide away, ice coating the ground where she had slid. Liu Kang rose in the air, his leg lighting aflame, and Kuai realized that he was going to try to incapacitate her with a burning flying kick. Thinking quickly, she formed an ice clone where she was standing, but after she had formed the ice statue, she somersaulted in backward in the air, forming a _second_ ice clone, tucking herself in the air into a ball as she landed on her feet, standing up.

Liu Kang had been anticipating Kuai to form the first ice clone and was aiming his hit to connect behind where Kuai had been standing. However, Kuai used this knowledge against him, and with the second ice clone behind the first one, Liu Kang was too late to stop himself as he came into contact with the second ice statue. 

Now frozen, Kuai punched through the ice, connecting her fist to his face. As he reeled back from the impact (Kuai punched as hard as any other guy), Kuai continued the assault relentlessly, letting out a battle cry as she ran at him whilst he was still recovering from her attacks, grabbing his wrist and twisting it before she flipped herself, wrapping her lower leg around the back of his neck and using her weight to bring him to the ground in a grapple. She held him in the lock, grasping her foot as that leg held Liu Kang in a chokehold.

Sonya let out a cheer from the sideline. "You go, girl!" She seemed excited that Kuai was using similar tactics that Sonya herself used when fighting, the grapple takedown being one of them. 

Kuai released her hold on the Shaolin, getting up quickly and offering a hand to the fallen warrior. He looked up with a smile of admiration and respect, taking the offered hand as she lifted him up from the ground. He gave her a bow, his hands at his sides. "You fought well, Kuai Liang. I look forward to seeing you improve," he said. Kuai Liang returned the bow, nodding at him. "Thank you for the match."

As Liu Kang left, Raiden came up to her, a smile on his face. "It appears that the effects of the Medallion have strengthened your abilities such that you are still powerful without it. Now, take it from me, and tell me what you feel when you take it."

Kuai took the artifact from Raiden's open hand, closing her eyes and exhaling deeply as she concentrated. "Energy... strength... and... a presence?" She opened her eyes, looking up at Raiden. "I felt some sort of presence in the Medallion every time I have held it, but now it seems more... connected to me. It's calling out my name."

Raiden nodded encouragingly. "Yes! This presence you feel from the Medallion is the combined souls of your ancestors, Kuai Liang. Your great-grandmother was a member of the royal cryomancer bloodline, Princess Celeste. She resides in that Medallion along with her fathers and forefathers."

Kuai looked down at the trinket, eyeing it warily. "Oh. That's... disturbing."

Raiden ignored her comment, continuing to press on with excitement. "The fact that you can fully feel the presence of the Medallion is the confirmation I needed. Now that you have connected with the Medallion, it has accepted you as its only user. The souls in the Medallion will lend you the knowledge they hold, teaching you about the extent of your powers. They will only teach you what you can control; so don't be discouraged if it doesn't seem like much. It would be astonishing if they taught you to control the air, but..." Raiden broke off, composing himself. "Now, it is just establishing your control over your new powers."

Kuai looked down at the trinket, still unsure of the process. "And after they teach me everything, I will be able to wield everything with ease, as though it were natural for me? And there would be no more collapsing from exhaustion?" Raiden nodded. "Yes, Kuai Liang. You will be able to utilize this new knowledge as if you had been practicing it your whole life. And the Medallion will not take any energy from you; rather, _you_ will be taking the energy and strength from _it._ Find a place to sit in peace, hold the Medallion, and open your mind to it. Follow the voices that call you and let them teach you your capabilities."

The cryomancer looked up to Raiden, nodding. "Okay," she answered, breathing in a shaky breath from the nerves. "I'll try my best."

* * *

Kuai found herself back in the clearing of the woods where Hanzo had attacked her that one night and where they had fallen coming back from New York.

"Okay," she muttered aloud to herself. "You can do this. Just clear your mind and follow the voices. God, this is stupid."

She sat crossed-legged on the stone-paved ground, turning her back to the fountain. Her hands were cupped below the Medallion, and she closed her eyes, trying to re-establish the connection she had made earlier with the Medallion. She could hear the gurgling noises of the fountain, then the individual sounds of the birds' chirping in the canopies above her, and then, the sound of an animal walking through the brush a mile away.

From here, she could hear the sound of a butterfly's wings fluttering in the air, and then the sound of a ladybug skittering across a leaf. Kuai was astonished, hearing all of these things that would have been normally indecipherable, but maintained her focus on the Medallion.

Suddenly, from thin air, Kuai heard the unmistakable sound of her name being called in whispers. She reached out to the voice when she seemed to walk over an imaginary ledge, and Kuai felt herself falling forward, spiraling downwards into darkness...

Her eyes snapped open, terrified by the falling sensation. Much to her surprise, the familiar surroundings of the woods that she had been sitting in moments ago was gone, replaced by a barren and endless space.

She looked down, realizing that she was hovering in the black void, suspended in nothingness. She looked around her, searching the darkness for a sign of another entity when she picked up a blue glowing light, resembling the light of her ice ball, sparkling in the distance. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what the light was, as she was unable to move. Slowly but steadily, the light grew bigger, and when Kuai was within arm's reach of the globe of blue light, it splintered into nine spheres of smaller circles of light. She watched in awe and a subtle feeling of serenity as the lights surrounded her, forming a perfect circle as they retreated back slightly.

Each light then started to morph, growing and stretching until they materialized into transparent figures. Kuai felt small in these people's presence under their gazes, timidly noting their expensive clothing. The flowing silk robes were very beautiful, the robes on each person a different shade of blue. All of them had the pale blue eyes that Kuai was told had replaced her own brown eye color. She bowed, hands starting to shake.

One of the men chuckled, facing another male figure. "Finally, manners! It only took us a few millennia."

The single woman smiled amusedly at the man who had spoken. "Silence, Taki. You're scaring her." Kuai turned to the female, feeling the most comfortable with her. "Are you my great-grandmother?"

The woman nodded, a gentle smile on her face. "Indeed, I am, young Kuai. My name is Princess Celeste. Why have you sought us?"

Kuai felt a sense of belonging; these were _her_ people; no one could understand her better than these being. "There's a war coming. A sorcerer from the Netherrealm named Quan Chi seeks to destroy Earthrealm, my home. I come seeking your guidance, your help. I need to be at my full strength to protect my friends and my world. I can't let anyone else die," she pleaded.

Another male nodded as he looked at her. "She is wise for her age. Not many of us had as much sense as she shows now when we were her age. You have chosen your Champion wisely, _Celestiana."_

The Princess nodded towards him. "Kuai Liang exceeds all expectations," she responded. "She will be the strongest of our race in our history, carrying on our name as the last cryomancer. She will uphold our beliefs and keep the peace, _Hyransem_."

Kuai looked between the spirits all around her, not sure of who to face. "Is your name not Celeste?" she asked, worried that she had gotten it wrong.

The Princess laughed, the sound reminding Kuai of falling snowflakes in a soft flurry. "It is, child. What you heard was my _spiritual_ name. You will earn yours when you have mastered what we will teach you. The more powerful you are, the more it reflects in your name. The more different it is from your birth name, the more powerful you are. The most powerful cryomancer before you had _two_ names."

Kuai hesitated. "Will I have a say in my name?"

The empty space rang out in laughter, not unkindly. "No, child," Taki answered. "The name chooses _you._ Your characteristics, your beliefs, your desires; all of it will be reflected in that name. Do not worry; seldom does it disappoint."

"When you pass on to the afterlife," the Princess continued, "you will only be referred to by your spiritual name. Everything else about you will be discarded, and all one needs to do is know your name to understand what kind of person you are. Now, are you ready, young one?"

Kuai nodded, taking in all the information with interest. "I am ready," she replied. "Please, teach me."

One by one, they approached her, and Kuai's eyes glowed blue again, a different shade from the others' eyes before her. Her particular eye color was a deep sky blue, the brighter color symbolizing her alignment towards the Light. She could not specifically describe what happened, but a strength flowed through her body, a much greater intensity than anything the Medallion had provided her. It felt as though ice was expanding through her insides as well as her outsides, and she could feel the chill of it, the ice so cold that it felt like it was burning...

Suddenly, just as quick as it had begun, it was over, and Kuai fell to the ground on one knee, panting from the exertion. She looked up, still catching her breath as she faced her ancestors. "Is it done?" she asked, her voice hoarse as though she had been screaming. She wouldn't be surprised if she had, and she stood up on both feet, feeling rejuvenated and more like... _herself_.

Princess Celeste - _Celestiana -_ nodded. Kuai was surprised that she knew the spiritual names of all nine spirits before her, now. "Yes, _Eirwenella_.You are free to leave."

Kuai shuddered, hearing her spiritual name being addressed to her for the first time. It was as frightening as it was exhilarating. Taki, or _Tashisan,_ smiled gently at her. "It is time to go, _Lumi._ We will always be with you, even if you may not see us." Kuai blinked, realizing that the name he had said was hers as well; a second. "Thank you," she said, bowing respectfully.

 _Hyransem_ returned her bow. "May you emerge from the battle victorious, _Glaciana._ We look forward to your return."

Before Kuai could recognize that she had been given a **_third_** name, she fell backward again, this time being pulled up instead of falling down.

* * *

Raiden blinked, gazing upon Kuai as she burst through the front door, panting from the exertion of running all the way back.

"Whoa," Johnny said from behind Raiden, peering over the Thunder God's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

Kuai was doubled over, hands on her knees as she gulped in air. She waved off Johnny's worried comment, looking up toward Raiden. "I did it," she said.

Raiden smiled, walking forward to help her up. "You have surpassed all my expectations, Kuai Liang. It is impressive enough to learn all the air abilities but to earn not one, but _three_ spiritual names is a feat in of itself."

Kitana perked up, interested by the mention of spiritual names. "She has earned one?"

Jax shook his head. "Not one. Three, Raiden said."

Raiden walked Kuai over to where the others were seated at the dining table, moving a chair to allow Kuai to sit down at the table. "Pardon my curiosity," the Thunder God started, "but what names were given to you?"

" _Eirwenella, Lumi,_ and _Glaciana,"_ Kuai listed off quickly without giving a thought. "Holy shit, that's creepy," she said aloud immediately afterward.

Raiden chuckled, giving her a sympathetic look. "I remember when I was bestowed my name, _Haokah._ It just melded to become my name, such that it was a part of my life and I would always remember it. These names are yours now, Kuai. Very fitting, I must add."

"How so?" Jade asked, leaning forward in interest. It seemed that she and Kitana had cooled off about Kuai's deception, and Kuai suspected that Liu Kang and Kung Lao had something to do with that, as she observed Jade sitting next to the Shaolin Monk with the razor-bladed hat.

" _Eirwenella_ comes from an ancient language root meaning _snowdrop,"_ Raiden began in his explanation, "and I think this reflects Kuai's lighthearted personality and gentle caring nature. _Lumi_ comes from the ancient word _Lumikki,_ simply translating to snow. However, when it was used in the olden days, it referred to the snow of a blizzard. I believe this reflects the strength of her emotions, which are ever-changing as a blizzard is; having the ability to appear and disappear unexpectedly. And finally, _Glaciana_ reflects her strength in power and ability, equating it to that of a gigantic glacier of ice that is impossible to move or overcome."

Kuai leaned back in her chair, eyes wide at Raiden's explanations. "Oh," she said, "I didn't know that they had _actual_ meanings."


	8. I've Been Falling My Whole Life (and I just hit rock bottom)

Crickets chirped their melodies to the night sky. The songbirds were sleeping, and the night owl had emerged from its hollow, crooning out lonely and hauntingly.

Kuai lay down on the sloped surface, the pillow that she had brought with her was under her head, propping it up so that she could gaze up at the pitch-black canvas that was the sky, with the twinkling stars and glowing moon behaving as the paints on the canvas. Her eyes flickered back and forth, trying to find the constellations.

Everyone else had disappeared into their own bedrooms, getting their sleep to continue working the next day. Troubled by the thought of sleep, Kuai had gone up to the attic, climbing out the window and pulled herself onto the roof, stepping quietly over the tiles as to not disturb anyone below her. Even if she didn't have any nightmares, Kuai knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. The events of today had left her with so many unanswered questions, and she thought of this as she scoured the night sky for the stars that she would gaze upon in her childhood.

Suddenly, she heard a creaking noise towards her feet, and she looked down the length of her body to see what had made the sound. A head popped up from the side of the house, and Kuai chuckled softly. 

"Can't sleep, Hanzo?"

He appeared frazzled to see her laying on the roof with her pillow, but thankfully he did not fall off. _That would have been **very** bad. _He started to pull himself up, stopping when he noticed that Kuai slid down slowly on the slope of the roof toward him. She offered him a helping hand, which he took courteously. Kuai pulled him up, the two making their way to where Kuai had been lying down moments before. She lay her head back down on her pillow, and Hanzo lay next to her on her right, crossing his arms behind his head as a makeshift pillow.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to be here," Hanzo whispered, trying to keep his voice down as he looked at Kuai. She shrugged in response. "I couldn't sleep."

Hanzo studied her closely. "Was it another nightmare?" Kuai shook her head, tilting her head to look sideways toward him. "I've just had a lot on my mind," she whispered back, looking back to the sky again. "My ancestors are telling me that I'm destined for great things and that I'm the most powerful cryomancer in history. It's a lot to process."

The Shirai Ryu nodded understandingly, not looking at her. "I don't envy you. The thought of having three extra names is... confusing, to be sure."

Kuai sighed, feeling weary under all the knowledge she had gained. "I will always be Kuai Liang. The names are just another way to address my person, kind of like my title of 'Grandmaster.' That's how I'm choosing to look at that, anyway." She turned her head to look at her companion. "Why are _you_ here?"

Hanzo visibly stiffened, words clipped as he answered her question. "I have been... wrestling some of my thoughts recently." He paused, mulling over his next words. "I dreamt of my wife and child."

Kuai drew back, alarmed. "I am so sorry, Hanzo. I didn't mean to pry-"

He waved her off with his left hand, shaking his head. "No, it is fine, Kuai. I suppose that talking about this will relieve some of the discomforts I am feeling now..."

Kuai turned onto her right side, propping up her head with her hand and bending her elbow. Hanzo didn't move, staring up at the sky. "I have been developing some... feelings for someone. But every time I picture myself with them, I am instantly reminded of Harumi and Satoshi, and I feel riddled with guilt and shame. How could I think of betraying them for someone else?" Kuai frowned in concern, sensing the distress in his voice with every word he spoke that increased slightly in volume.

He continued to speak. "They both came to me in my dream, my wife holding our child in her arms. They looked so... real. And it felt so real. Harumi set our son down, taking both of my hands and told me that I had to move on, to pursue my relationship with this other person. She said she didn't want to see me in pain for the rest of my life, and that she would always love me no matter who I turned to in the end."

Kuai wasn't sure what to say. She had nothing to do with this situation at all, and all she could offer his tortured soul was a person to listen. 

"And the crazy thing is," Hanzo huffed, "I think it was _actually_ them. In spirit, coming to tell me to move on with my life. I just don't know how I'm supposed to do that."

With this, Kuai could now help him. "Letting go is the hardest part," she said, thinking of Bi-Han, "When I lost my brother, all I could focus on was the pain that I felt due to his loss. But I had Tomas, and he was always by my side, getting me to smile and laugh, and I realized that there was so much more to life than just Bi-Han, you know? And knowing that I would not be able to preserve his memory by moping sullenly, I pulled myself together and set myself to live my life, knowing that he would have wanted me to move on." Actually, she didn't know if he cared for her at all when he passed, but Kuai was trying to equate her "experience" to fit Hanzo's situation.

Luckily, Hanzo didn't seem to pick up on Kuai's blemished story. He nodded slowly, the strained look in his eyes starting to disappear. "Thank you, Kuai Liang," he said. 

She waved him off, a smile on her face. "Aw, it's okay. Anything I could do to help." She shifted, laying back down on her back and resuming her original task of identifying constellations. Curious, she addressed Hanzo, not taking her eyes off the sky, "Which constellations do you know?"

He shook his head. "I've heard of the stories, but I never identified them." The " _I didn't have the time"_ remained unspoken between the two, and Kuai lifted her arm, pointing to the stars. "Well, let's start with the basics. Over there, with the bright star there, that's the end of the handle of the Big Dipper. Can you see the scoop part of it?"

They continued to whisper, Kuai doing most of the talking while she pointed out all the constellations she knew, while Hanzo replied with simple nods or the occasional and rare, "Yes." 

Breaking his quiet-spoken manner, Hanzo peered over to Kuai, a question coming to mind. "How do you know of these things, and yet have no idea what ice-cream is?"

Kuai sobered, her face slacking into a sad reminiscent gaze. "Bi-Han taught me when we had been brought into the Lin Kuei. It was one of the few things that we did together when he still cared for me."

* * *

_**A Simpler Time Ago...** _

_"Bi-Han?"_

_Kuai whispered in the darkness of their shared room from her bed on the edge of the left wall. She heard her older brother shift in his bed, the sheets rustling as he turned to face her from his own mattress against the right wall of the room._

_"Yes, Kuai Liang?"_

_She stared up at the ceiling, the moonlight casting dark shadows on the surface. They formed menacing shapes of monsters and ghouls, and she shivered under the covers, pulling them up to her chin to protect herself._

_"I'm scared."_

_Hearing this from her, the elder brother threw off the blanket, walking to her bed in concern as he sat on the edge. He took her hand, grasping it firmly. "Nothing can hurt you while I'm here," he said firmly. "I will protect you from everyone here."_

_Kuai's eyes welled with tears, and she looked down to where Bi-Han was sitting. "But... What if they use you to hurt me? What happens if you are ordered to hurt me?"_

_Bi-Han shook his head. "That's never going to happen, Kuai. I will **never** hurt you, I promise." Kuai sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes with the other hand that Bi-Han wasn't holding. "I love you, Bi-Han," she said in a soft voice, afraid that someone would overhear._

_He smiled softly down at her, patting the back of her hand. "I love you, too. Try to get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." He got up, the bed leaving an imprint where he had been sitting as he walked over to his own bed, climbing under the covers._

_Kuai closed her eyes, hoping to escape this prison through her dreams. Maybe she'd find herself back in her parents' arms with Bi-Han and her back home. Perhaps this entire thing was just a bad dream, and all she had to do was wake up from this nightmare._

_"Kuai?"_

_She opened her eyes, turning her head to look at Bi-Han. He had a troubled look on his face, and Kuai was instantly worried. "Yes, Bi-Han?"_

_He didn't say anything, sitting up again as he slipped his feet into the slippers resting on the floor._

_"Do you want to see the stars?"_

* * *

Kuai opened her eyes blearily, blinking as the harsh sunlight penetrated her vision. She groaned, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the left side of the bed as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Much to her surprise, she noticed that she was back in her bedroom, and she had not slept as she usually did, flat on her back. Instead, she had woken up, laying on the left side of the bed and facing the window on the left side of the room. She started to wonder whether the events of last night had actually happened, squinting through the light coming from the window...

"Go back to sleep."

The female cryomancer nearly jumped out of her own skin as she heard a voice behind her on the bed. She whipped around, looking down to see who had spoken. 

Hanzo Hasashi, dressed in a nightshirt and sweatpants, was laying down on the right side of Kuai's bed. He was also laying on his left side, and Kuai wondered if he had held her as she slept. As she thought of this possibility, becoming flustered at the thought, Hanzo opened one side sleepily. "I can hear you thinking," he grumbled. 

Kuai shook her head. "I'm sorry. How did we get here? From the roof?"

Hanzo groaned, propping himself up on his elbows as he started to wake. "You fell asleep cuddled against me for warmth," he answered. "And I knew that we couldn't stay up there when the sun rose, or else people would start wondering where we had gone. I carried you from the roof back inside and brought you back to your room. I tried to leave, but you wouldn't let go, and I didn't want to disturb you, so I stayed." He fell back down on the bed, pulling the covers up again. "Go back to sleep."

Kuai looked outside, seeing that it was daytime, and she stood up instead. "The sun's up. We've got to go practice." She went into her small private bathroom, freshening herself up and got dressed into her gear in there. When she walked out, Hanzo was still laying in bed. She huffed amusedly, moving to the door to leave. "See you later," she called out, exiting the room as she closed it behind her.

She made her way downstairs, eyeing the basket of fruit on in the kitchen. She moved forward to grab one, pausing as she realized that she could use this as a test of her powers. She held out her dominant right hand, concentrating as she felt the air currents in the room, redirected them towards an apple in the basket. She watched in awe as the apple she had selected lifted up, hovering in the air. Keeping her excitement at bay, she bit her lower lip as she manipulated the air, blowing the apple towards her. She caught the fruit in her left hand, grinning as she took a bite from the flesh of the fruit.

She had been surprised by how effortlessly the process had taken but remembered that many of her powers would feel like this, as the spirits of her ancestors had told her. She walked out into the backyard, walking through the grassy plains toward the bank of the lake. She passed the line where the grass ended, shifting to a terrain of gravel and small pebbles. She sat down in the gravel left untouched by the water, eating her breakfast as she watched the sun start to crown over the leavy tops of the trees. 

She studied the water, following the ripples that a fallen leaf created when it made contact with the liquid's sheen surface. Her eyes moved to look at a blue heron that had flown in, its long legs moving through the water as it scanned the water for its next meal. It turned its head toward Kuai sitting on the bank of the river, and she maintained eye-contact with it, not blinking once. The large bird turned away first, looking back down to the water before striking downward with its long angular beak. It resurfaced, a silver trout struggling to escape. It turned back toward Kuai, fixing her one last look before taking to the sky, leaving her alone.

Distinctly, from behind the glass sliding backdoor, Kuai could hear the chatter of the other kombatants who had gotten up. She heard Sonya shouting at Johnny, but she knew that it was playful and not actual fighting. She got up, shaking off the small rocks and turned around to join the others.

Everyone had come together in the dining room, and Kuai saw Hanzo standing off to the side next to Kenshi, who was talking to him. He nodded once toward Kuai, and she smiled back.

Cyrax perked up when he saw her enter through the door. "Good morning, Kuai!" he said, waving her over. Beside him, Tomas stood grumpily with his arms crossed, blinking through half-lidded eyes. Cyrax rolled his eyes pointing sideways toward the enenra. "He's just grumpy he had to wake up."

Tomas glared at Cyrax. "Fuck off. You know I'm not a morning person. Wake me up when we have an _actual_ emergency."

Kuai blinked, and she found herself standing in snow that reached her knees, tall pine trees around her. 

There were multiple groans from the kombatants, and Kuai realized that they had managed to arrive together at the same spot, for the first time. Kung Lao glared at Tomas. "You just _had_ to say it, didn't you?"

Kuai trudged through the snow, frowning as she studied her surroundings. It reminded her of home, the Lin Kuei base, where she couldn't wait to return to. She pushed forward through the snow, making it to the forefront of the group. An uneasy feeling rested in her bones as she kept on looking around, and she turned to the Earthrealm god that had brought them here. "Why are we here, Raiden?"

Raiden stood amongst the group, looking up a snowy slope. "I sensed a disturbance," the Thunder God spoke. "Many souls perished. Someone is taking their souls to empower themselves."

Kuai followed the god's gaze. He had been looking up a mountain in the distance, studying something that was embedded on the side of the mountain. Squinting, Kuai focused on the object that was in the mountain, and her eyes widening with fear and horror as she realized why the landscape had resembled her home. She ran toward the danger, not waiting for the others. Shortly after, Tomas realized what had happened, and was quick to catch up to her.

"Whoa, hold on!" Jax called out after them. "What are you doing?"

"There's no time!" Kuai shouted back, adrenaline pumping through her blood. "My clan is being attacked!"

Kuai quickly reached the base of the mountain, crying out in frustration and desperation. It would take forever to take the Mountain Pass to reach the top. She whirled around to the others who had managed to catch up to her and Tomas. "Get us up there, now!" she demanded of Raiden.

* * *

They all emerged on an empty battlefield.

The Lin Kuei defenders that had tried to protect their families had failed, and Kuai cried out in rage as she saw the floor littered in their bodies. Their bodies were shriveled, grey and decomposed from the process of having their souls removed. Their empty eyes seemed to glare at her, penetrating her soul and accusing her. _Too late,_ they seemed to mock. Her hands shook in rage.

Behind her, Tomas' face had turned pale, and he made it to Kuai, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Kuai," he tried to console her. "Keep calm, and let's find this son-of-a-bitch." She tore her gaze off of their soulless eyes, nodding in response. She stepped over their bodies, pushing open the doors leading into the Lin Kuei temple.

The normally lively and bustling halls were empty since all of the halls' inhabitants were lying in the snow outside. Kuai shook off the thought, focusing on getting to the bottom of this issue. She would have time to mourn them later. She led the others through the winding hallways toward the Throne Room.

Hanzo studied the walls, not wanting to see the haunted expression on Kuai's face. He had felt this same pain firsthand, and he could not see himself reflected in her eyes. The walls were engraved in the many accomplishments of the Lin Kuei, detailing their history. Whilst he scorned the Lin Kuei's dark past, he couldn't help but admire the artistry that went into the engravings. Further on, he noticed with a start that the engravings had disappeared, and he saw tools scattered on the floor. He surmised that Kuai had taken it upon herself to remove the scenes of the Lin Kuei's past, only signifying her intent to start anew.

And yet, despite her attempts, her clansmen laid dead on the ground, all hopes of a better future seeming out of her grasp. 

Kuai pushed through the doors of the Throne Room, glaring at the sight.

Standing at the top of the steps was a figure clothed in black, dark as pitch. He was dressed in a similar fashion that the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu were dressed in, yet it was so different. He wore a necklace of bone, wielding a hooked scythe which was impaled in his body. Black smog slowly emitted from his body, and his blank white eyes fixed themselves on the newcomers. With his mask on, Kuai could not make out his face.

"There used to be a chair here," it spoke. It had a low and deep voice, booming and commanding in the nearly empty room. "Only the most powerful sat in the Throne."

Kuai narrowed her eyes. "I had it removed. A good Grandmaster should not but themselves above their people; they are all equal in honor and value. What business is it to you, wraith?"

It fixed its eyes on her, and Kuai resisted the urge to shudder. Its eyes were a blank white, no sign of life residing in them. "I was once a Lin Kuei," it answered. "I was its most feared warrior, under the rule of the powerful Grandmaster. I killed many under his charge until I was unjustly slain by the Netherrealm wraith, Scorpion."

Kuai inhaled sharply. _It couldn't be..._ "Bi-Han?" she whispered, afraid to hear the truth. 

"My name is Noob Saibot," Bi-Han snapped. He tilted his head mockingly. "Did you miss me, little sister?" Kuai experienced a whirlwind of emotions, shaking her head to focus herself. "You murdered my clan!" she shouted, forming dual ice blades and holding them in both hands.

He threw his head back and laughed.

Kuai faltered, recoiling from him. His laugh was cold and menacing, and he looked at all of the kombatants. "I spit on your clan!" he roared out. "And I cut off all ties to you!" He melted away, a copy of him standing in his place. Kuai immediately knew that this was a clone of him, a shadow clone, to be precise. It was much more "inky" in appearance, and stood rigidly without the natural slump of a human.

Kuai fell to the ground and rolled upon sensing a shift in the air behind her. She turned around, sliding on the sleek floor. The clone now moved, throwing itself at her, but she threw one of her ice swords, and it impaled the figure, forcing it to dissipate. She turned back around, seeing that the others were keeping Noob Saibot busy.

Hanzo swung down his blade as Noob brought up his sickle to block the blow. Both weapons were interlocked, and Hanzo struggled, forcing it down as he glared at the wraith. "Kuai is your sister!" he shouted at the undead man. 

Noob growled, trying to force the man off of him. "She means nothing to me; she is weaker than I ever was. I disown her in every way." He tried to kick at Hanzo's leg, but the Shirai Ryu backed away, blocking a downward strike from Noob Saibot. Now, he was on the defensive, and he struggled against the weight. "I killed you once," he ground out, trying to hold out for someone else to help him. "I can kill you again."

The Netherrealm wraith leaned close, eyes narrowed. "You are human now, Hasashi. Your weakness _reeks_ off of your body. I will bury you and make sure you do not rise again."

Suddenly, Noob flinched, arching his back as he quickly became encased in ice. From behind, Kuai held out her open palms towards his figure, lowering her arms when she saw that he had been taken care of. She ran to Hanzo's side, touching his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked, worry evident in her eyes.

 _Shouldn't someone be asking **you** that? _Hanzo ignored the voice in his head, for now, giving her a short nod. Kuai turned around to address what to do with her frozen undead brother, eyes widening once she realized that he was gone. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, walking over to the area where he had been standing moments before.

Johnny panted, getting up from the floor. "Where did he go?" he asked, looking around wildly.

Kitana closed her fans, scanning the room warily. "He's gone," she declared. "Returned to the Netherrealm; the coward!"

Hanzo turned around, looking at Kuai. She knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the area where Noob Saibot had been entrapped, the ice shards glittering under the sunlight.

They had managed to repel the wraith, but it didn't feel like a victory for anyone.

* * *

They were all standing outside, the snow starting to come down heavily.

It had taken them all many hours to bury the dead in a grove nearby, the process taxing both physically and emotionally. Even though the kombatants did not have a connection to these warriors, the look on Kuai's face was enough to make them all somber. Kenshi and Raiden had not used their abilities to speed the process, displaying their respect for the dead.

It had reached its worst when they brought out the women and children. Kuai was struggling to not cry, and it took Hanzo every bone in his body to resist reaching out to comfort her. He knew that she needed some time alone, and he would try to approach her when they returned to the house. He caught Tomas shedding a tear for the fallen and saw Cyrax talk to him briefly before giving him a hug.

All Hanzo could think of was his confrontation with Bi-Han, now known as Noob Saibot. The wraith reminded Hanzo of himself as Scorpion, and at the same time, it didn't. Both had harbored a fierce hatred that had brought them back to life as an undead warrior, yet Bi-Han had sought to wipe out his family whilst Hanzo had fought on behalf of his. 

With the dead buried, Hanzo and the others stepped back and gave space, leaving Kuai, Tomas, and Cyrax alone at the top of the burial mound. Hanzo turned away, memories from his past resurfacing in his mind. Raiden walked over to him, placing a hand on the Shirai Ryu's shoulder. "She will need your support more than ever," the Thunder God murmured. "Help her out of her misery."

Hanzo nodded briefly once. "I plan to," he responded, looking at the others near him. Sonya leaned her head against Johnny's shoulder, the Hollywood star rubbing her arm and holding her close to him. Jax was sitting on the ground, a defeated look in his eyes. Kenshi stood, staring at the ground silently. Liu Kang and Kitana stood to the side, whispering quietly and indecipherable to the others, whilst Kung Lao and Jade gazed up to the Lin Kuei paying their respects.

At last, the three Lin Kuei returned to the group. Cyrax had a tightened expression on his face, a hand on Kuai's shoulder. Her eyes were red and puffy, and as she came up to them, she sniffled, nodding to the others. "Let's go home," she said. 

A blue flash of light, the sensation of falling, and Hanzo stood on the hardwood floor of the foyer, eyes trailing after Kuai's retreating form up the stairs. Sonya shouted angrily in frustration, punching the nearest wall. "Damn it, Raiden! Why didn't you get us there earlier?"

Kenshi held up his palm in a placating gesture. "Sonya, Raiden can not predict the future. I also sensed a cloaking spell over the area, most likely placed by Quan Chi. We did what we could."

"It's never enough," Kung Lao muttered.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. The midday sun shone brightly in the blue sky, the atmosphere too cheery for what had just transpired. Liu Kang stepped forward, moving past the group towards the glass sliding door. "I will train for our next conflict," he announced. "Feel free to join me."

The kombatants started to trickle one by one, following Earthrealm's Champion until only Hanzo and Tomas were left in the room. The enenra turned to Hanzo, gripping his shoulder. 

"We need to talk," Tomas said, his voice low and grim.

Hanzo didn't question him, following him as Tomas led him to the living room.

* * *

Hanzo shifted uncomfortably in the armchair, scrutinized by Tomas' blank gaze. 

"I'm sorry for your clan," Hanzo began, trying to start a conversation to break the silence, but Tomas did not answer. He continued to analyze Hanzo with his eyes, narrowed and fixated on his soul.

Finally, Tomas spoke. He leaned forward, letting out a grunt as he settled into a more comfortable position. "I'm dying," he said.

Hanzo's eyes widened in shock, not expecting him to say that. "What?!"

Tomas sighed, sliding his hand down his face as he slumped, looking weary. "Raiden told me about my powers," he responded, "and apparently, I have an evil spirit inside me. It's called an Enenra; a vengeful spirit who inhabits a dying person's body to exact vengeance. I died when I was a child, slain by the village I resided in, who was convinced that I was a demon. The Enenra took over my body, bringing me back to life. I killed everyone in that village and was found by the Lin Kuei afterward who took me in."

He paused, staring down at the floor in thought. "Raiden has told me that this spirit is draining my energy, and is slowly killing me. If it is removed, I will die anyway because I had been killed before it took over my body."

Hanzo gave him a suspicious glance. "So are you Tomas or the Enenra?"

Tomas looked up to face him. "I am Tomas," he answered, "The Enenra just acts as a force that is keeping me alive and killing me at the same time."

Hanzo exhaled sharply. "Is there nothing that can be done?" he asked. _If Tomas died, Kuai would be devastated._

The silver-haired Lin Kuei shook his head. "Not without directly resulting in my death," he sighed. He fixated on Hanzo, eyes narrowing. "I only have a week left, at most." He got up from his seat, walking over to Hanzo and leaned over him, driving his finger into the Shirai Ryu's chest. 

"When I die, Kuai will be disenchanted with life. You haven't seen it before as I have. After Bi-Han died and she failed to honor him by killing you, she tried to take her own life." His voice was trembling, and he grasped the front of Hanzo's uniform in his fist. "She will definitely fall into that same state without me. Cyrax is not staying with the Lin Kuei after this; he plans on retiring to a normal life. She will be left alone. Do you understand me?"

He continued on, "With your morals and tradition in honor, I plead for you to honor my dying wish. Please, stay by her side. Don't ever falter by her side, and make sure she does not follow me to the afterlife." Tomas was blinking tears from his eyes, his face red as he ranted desperately.

"Please," he begged, "She's my sister. I can't lose my family."

Hanzo's adam apple bobbed up and down, nodding shortly. "I promise, Tomas. On my life and the memory of my wife and child, I swear to you that I will always be with Kuai."

Tomas' grip on the Shirai Ryu slackened, and he retreated backward. "Good." Hanzo stood up, watching as Tomas left the area. "What are you going to tell Kuai?" he called out after his retreating form.

The Lin Kuei warrior stopped his gait, turning his head slightly so that Hanzo could not see his face. "She won't see me die," he said. "Cyrax and I will leave, and he will bury me in my final resting place. She's already seen too much death." 

Hanzo watched helplessly as Tomas left, joining the others outside. He felt torn. _Do I tell Kuai, or save her the temporary pain before it hits her harder when she eventually finds out?_

The Shirai Ryu shook his head, tempted to throw something in anger, but he steeled his resolve. He knew that an act of anger would not do anything to help. He looked back up the winding staircase where Kuai walked up before looking back to where Tomas had disappeared to join the others outside. He looked back to the staircase, sighing as he walked up the stairs. He scanned the hallways, looking for any sign of life.

Seeing no one in the halls, Hanzo walked down the halls of bedrooms, pausing at the end of the hall standing before Kuai's bedroom door. He raised his hand up, pausing hesitantly before rapping the wood with his knuckles twice. 

"Kuai?" he called out. "It's me, Hanzo. Can I come in?"

No one answered.

Hanzo turned around, about to leave when he stopped in his steps. He thought back to what Tomas had told him minutes before about Kuai's behavior and how she had tried to end her life, and he walked back to her door, knocking louder. "Kuai?"

Still hearing nothing, Hanzo became more anxious. Thinking on instinct, he teleported in a whirlwind of flame, reappearing in Kuai's room. Of all the spots he landed on, it had been the fur rug in the room, and upon seeing the sparks igniting on the carpet, Hanzo stamped down on them quickly. 

He looked up, scanning the room. Kuai was not lying in the bed, as Hanzo realized after he lifted up the blanket dramatically, throwing it to the floor as his panic grew. He opened the closet, almost tearing the doors off their hinges, stepping away in fear and anxiety.

"Hanzo?"

He whirled around to face the area where the voice had called out his name. Kuai was standing on the threshold of the connected bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body and her hair wet. Her eyes were still puffy and red, but the expression on her face was one of confusion. “Hey,” she greeted, taking an uncertain step forward and surveyed the damage done to her room. “What are you doing here?”

Hanzo felt like an idiot, standing there as he composed himself. ”You didn't answer when I knocked on the door. I got worried, and,” he gestured around him awkwardly, ”this happened.”

Kuai nodded slowly, walking backward to the bathroom. ”Right,” she said. Her damp hair stuck to her pale skin, a stark contrast akin to dark tree bark on a field blanketed by snow. Hanzo blinked when the bathroom door shut closed behind Kuai, who had gone to dry herself off. He groaned, raising a hand to his head in frustration. ”Shit,” he muttered.

When Kuai emerged from the bathroom fully clothed and freshened up, she joined Hanzo who was sitting on the edge of her bed, and she sat down next to him. He started down at her lap where her hands were folded neatly, and then hesitantly took one of them, gripping it gently yet firmly. ”What are you feeling right now?” he asked slowly. 

Kuai stiffened, not meeting Hanzo’s gaze. ”Anger. Pain. Sorrow. Betrayal.” She shook her head, staring at her feet. “I just can’t believe that after all these years, Bi-Han shows up out of nowhere as an evil entity, hellbent on burying me.” She huffed, shaking her head. ”I guess I'm feeling confused, most of all.” Kuai sighed, falling back so that she was lying on her bed. 

Hanzo remained seated, looking down at her. ”I’m sorry,” he replied. ”If I could take away your pain, even just for one second, you know I would.”

Kuai nodded, staring up at the ceiling. ”It’s not your fault, Hanzo.” She paused, touring her head as a thought came to her mind. ”I guess it is fitting, in a certain way. The Lin Kuei wiped out the Shirai Ryu, and this is just karma taking its course.” Hanzo shook his head resolutely, leaning back and propping himself up by his elbows. ”But your Lin Kuei did not deserve this. You remade them, forged them into a better clan with a selfless purpose. Only Bi-Han is to blame for this, not you.” His eyes narrowed, a dark look crossing over his face. ”And he will pay for this, trust me.”

Kuai covered her face with her hands. ”I just don't know if I can do it. Kill him.” Hanzo’s heart ached, seeing her in pain. ”If it comes down to it,” he said quietly, ”you can trust me to finish the job.” He got up, standing near the edge of the bed and looked down at Kuai. ”Move,” he said. She complied, shifting to the left side of the bed as Hanzo lay next to her. ”Go to sleep,” he muttered. ”Sleep it all off. Everything will be better tomorrow.”

Kuai huffed half-heartedly. ”It’s 2 PM, Hanzo. We’ll be staying up the entire night.”

He rolled on his side, facing her as he hugged her closer to him. ”I’m not letting you leave,” he insisted. ”Just sleep.”

Kuai relented, laying her head against Hanzo’s chest. The heat emanating from Hanzo’s body coupled with the rhythmic beating of his heart started to lull her into drowsiness, and she ended up closing her eyes, falling into the realm of sleep, dreaming of happier and simpler memories.

While she slept, Hanzo held her, holding her from a distance and yet still holding onto her tightly. He studied her face as she slept, her slackened face relaxed and peaceful. 

He held onto her tight, shielding her from the nightmares, keeping her safe.


	9. Hold Me Tight (I need you by my side)

Kuai opened her eyes, feeling refreshed for once after sleeping through a night without any nightmares. Much to her surprise, she noted that the sun was just starting to rise, and she realized that she had slept through the entire afternoon and night.

She also realized that Hanzo had left sometime while she had slept, probably to eat dinner with the others before going to sleep in his room for the night.

She got out of her bed, getting dressed quickly and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She was greeted with the sight of Kenshi sitting on the floor, meditating, and Sonya in the kitchen. Deciding not to bother Kenshi, Kuai decided to join Sonya, who was moving around in the kitchen as she seemed to be trying to make something.

”Good morning, Sonya.”

The blonde fighter nearly jumped in the air, dropping the knife as she whirled around. She relaxed when she saw that it was Kuai who had spoken. ”Oh, hello. You scared the living shit out of me, you know.” Kuai winced in apology. ”Sorry,” she said. ”Can I help you with anything?”

Sonya fixed her with a suspicious glance. ”You know how to cook?” Kuai nodded eagerly. ”Yup! I got sent to the Lin Kuei kitchens a lot for punishments. I picked up on a _lot_ and stuff.” She went to the fridge, taking out the carton of eggs and the milk, balancing them dangerously as she reached for the butter, swinging the refrigerator door closed. 

Kuai placed the items on the countertop, rummaging in the cupboards for the frying pan, which she retrieved and placed it on the stovetop. Sonya stood back, letting Kuai operate freely in the kitchen. ”How are you doing?” the Special Forces general asked quietly.

The Lin Kuei Grandmaster turned around to face Sonya, a tentative smile on her face. ”I dealt with it yesterday,” she replied, ”and I'm feeling better now.” Songs nodded, an encouraging smile on her face. ”Good. Just know that we all have your back.” She gave Kuai a firm pat on her back, leaving the kitchen area, most likely to wake up Johnny and Jax. As Sonya departed, Kenshi stood up and passed her, taking her place alongside Kuai.

The blind swordsman nodded amiably towards Kuai. ”I'm glad to see you in better spirits, Kuai.” He paused, looking away. ”I must tell you something. It's not good news.”

Kuai turned to face him, placing the pan down. ”What happened?” she asked, worry etched onto her face. Kenshi sighed, running a hand through his hair. ”Last night, I observed your friend, Tomas, leaving with Cyrax. I confronted them; I had thought them to be deserting us, but what they told me was much more shocking. The spirit that inhabits Tomas’ body and keeps him alive is killing him, Kuai. He left with Cyrax to live his last few days in peace.”

Kuai could not believe what she was hearing. ”What?” her voice broke, and she turned to fully face him. ”Why did he leave me?!” 

Kenshi held up his hand in a placating gesture. ”Kuai, Tomas did not tell you nor bring you with him because he did not want to see you in pain on his deathbed. He left in my possession a letter.” Kenshi brought out the letter from his pocket, handing it to her. She took it with trembling hands. ”I am so sorry, Kuai,” he said softly. ”Only tragedy has followed you here, but I promise that it will all get better.” He took a step back, moving to leave. ”If you find yourself in a difficult position, come find me.” With a short bow, the swordsman took his leave.

Kuai looked down at the letter, slowly opening the envelope with her name scrawled on the front in what was distinctly her friend’s handwriting. She unfolded the paper inside and read silently her best friend’s final words to her:

_Dear Kuai,_

_Before I start getting into the main purpose of this letter, I wanted to preface it with an apology. I am so sorry for denying you your right as my best friend to say goodbye to me in person, but I could not bear to pass away seeing you in agony and suffering. I know that you will probably harbor some hatred and anger towards me, but this was what I wanted for myself and you, and I hope you find it within yourself to forgive me when this is all over._

_When we first met, I had been a scared mouse in a field of hawks within the Lin Kuei. But then you approached me, and you told me that I wouldn't be left alone. You showed me the goodness in life, and together, we lived our lives abiding by our own rules, and not by anyone else’s. Never lose that resolve.  
_

_I have told you about my past, but what I have just recently discovered is that the Enenra spirit that inhabits my body is also draining my life’s force, and I will die. Please do not linger on the thought of my death for long, and only remember me in my prime, spending my days of mischief alongside you._

_As my final request from you, I want you to take a break. Go out and explore everything the world has to offer. After you rebuild the Lin Kuei, make it a point to continue living your life socially. And hook up with someone! I'm serious, Kuai. Unfortunately, I was unable to live long enough to see you in a happy relationship with someone, but I’ve talked to a potential candidate. *Wink*_

_Be happy. Move on from the past, and be who **you** are, here and now. Do not follow me to the afterlife too early, but if the inevitable must come to pass, know that I will await you here, with open arms, sister._

_Signing Off With Love,_

_Tomas Vrbada_

Kuai slid against the counter wall to the floor, silent tears of grief sliding down her cheeks as she clutched the letter close to her body. Was she destined to lose everyone she loved?

”Whoa, are you okay?”

Kuai looked up quickly, wiping her eyes quickly and tried to compose herself. ”I’m fine, Johnny,” she muttered. She got up, leaning against the countertop. He fixated his nervous eyes on her. ”Hey, I can't say that I know what you're feeling right now, but if you need to rant, I'm here for you.”

Kuai sniffled, nodding. ”Tomas left with Cyrax. He's dying.”

Johnny's eyes widened significantly, and his jaw dropped in disbelief. ”He left without a word?” Kuai lifted the letter that was crumpled from gripping it too hard. ”He left me a letter.”

Johnny frowned, eyes flickering between Kuai and the letter in her hand before he spoke, ”He should have given you a chance to say goodbye!” he exclaimed, shaking his head in disapproval. Kuai shook her head slowly, taking in all of Tomas’ last words. ”He didn't want me to see him on his deathbed while I'm still recovering from the Lin Kuei’s destruction. I don't blame him for that; if he didn't want me there, I will respect his wishes.” She sighed, looking at Johnny. ”If Kenshi hasn't told the others, do you mind telling them? I don't have the strength to tell them myself.”

He nodded immediately, moving away to fulfill Kuai’s request. ”Yeah, of course. For what it’s worth, I'm sorry.” Kuai watched him leave, the emptiness of the kitchen suffocating her.

 _I'm sorry._ The phrase didn't resonate well with her, and she tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach. Trying to put her mind elsewhere to distract herself, Kuai resumed to her original intended task, cracking the eggs into a mixing bowl methodically. She cut off the butter from the stick, placing it in the heated pan as she distributed it evenly. Turning back to the eggs, she poured in a little bit of milk, adding garlic powder and salt and pepper before taking out a fork and whisking the mixture.

The task of preparing breakfast took Kuai's mind off of everything that had been weighing her down, and she was engrossed. She plated the golden scrambled eggs onto a platter, cleaning up after herself. She heard running footsteps from behind her, and she turned around.

Hanzo burst through the entryway, moving quickly toward Kuai. "Are you okay?" He reached out to her, touching her shoulder gently. Kuai nodded, placing her hand over his. "I'm fine. A little shaken, but I'm holding it together." She removed his hand, walking past him with the plate of eggs in her hand toward the dining room. Hanzo followed after her, concerned about her deflective behavior. "Kuai," he began, "it's not healthy to keep all of this bottled up. You don't have to talk to me, but please talk to _someone_ about this."

Kuai placed the plate in the center of the table, turning to face him again. "I've already spoken with you yesterday about this, though," she said, frowning. "And I'm not as depressed as you think I am. While I am miserable about the fate of my clan and sad about Tomas, I know that I couldn't have done anything else to save my clan, and Tomas wished for me to be happy, so I'm trying to respect and abide by his wish. Trust me, Hanzo. I'm feeling better," she said firmly.

Hanzo frowned, analyzing her with scrutiny. "No one is able to fully recover from something of this magnitude, Kuai. You need to talk to someone," he insisted.

Kuai exploded. "I _need_ to?! You don't know what I need or don't need, Hanzo. Yes, I know that I'm still grieving over all my losses. And I'm not blind to turn away from my emotions; I just deal with them in a different way. But you don't know me, so step off my case and piss off!" She stormed away, her footsteps leaving behind imprints of ice on the ground with every footfall. 

Hanzo watched her go, regretting everything he had said.

* * *

Kuai had made it a point to ignore and avoid him the entire day.

During the first half of the day, Hanzo gave her the space she needed, keeping an eye on her from a distance. In their conversation, Hanzo only understood now that he had overstepped his boundaries and should not have pushed forward on such a delicate topic. But all of that was too little, too late, and now the Shirai Ryu was focused on trying to earn her forgiveness.

_I already fucked it up, Tomas._

As the morning passed to the afternoon, Hanzo had completely lost sight of Kuai, and he knew that she was evading him every step of the way. Every time Hanzo caught sight of the blue-garbed Lin Kuei Grandmaster from the corner of his eye, she had disappeared after he turned to face in her direction. It was getting frustrating at this point, the game of "hide-and-seek" seeming extremely childish to Hanzo. But there was nothing he could do, as she kept moving to escape his cornering.

As the afternoon transcended into the evening, Hanzo had decided to give up his chase, choosing to resume it tomorrow. He settled in the common area, brooding over his mistake early in the day and sulked in his bitterness. While Kuai was dealing with her own demons, Hanzo wasn't having a great time, either. The sudden death of the Lin Kuei clan had revived haunting memories to the former Netherrealm wraith, and Bi-Han's appearance as Noob Saibot had reminded Hanzo of his past as Scorpion, serving under Quan Chi. 

It wasn't just this part of Bi-Han that troubled Hanzo; the memory of being murdered as a human by Bi-Han's hand had brought him the most pain. All he could see in his nightmares of that moment was the cold and dark merciless eyes of his nemesis. Even thinking about it now sent every nerve down his spine alight, and he was tense all over. 

The tap on his shoulder shook him out of his musings, and he turned around to see Jade standing next to him. "Yes?" he asked, a slight testiness to his voice.

She cast an uninterested look down at him. "Sonya told me to get everyone. We're going out to the town to shake off some of this tension over the events of yesterday. Honestly, I don't care if you come or not, but I was required to tell you. She said to dress casually." She strutted away immediately afterward, not waiting for a reply from him.

Hanzo sighed in resignation, coming to the conclusion that if he chose to skip out on this social gathering, Sonya wouldn't stop giving him hell for it. He got up reluctantly, heading up to his room for a change in clothing.

He went downstairs, noting that everyone had already left. He felt a little betrayed, especially since he knew that Kuai hadn't spoken up to hold them back to wait for him, but he couldn't blame her for doing so after his actions earlier today. Raiden looked over at him, eyes widening in realization. "I just brought them to the town. You'll have to look for them if I take you right now. If you can't find anyone, just come back yourself before ten." Hanzo shrugged, not really caring about the arrangement. "That's fine," he responded. 

After the bright blue light had faded from his vision, Hanzo blinked rapidly to adjust to the darkness of the night. The night air was cool and crisp, but the sounds of civilians flocking the streets ruined the potentially tranquil environment. Hanzo found that Raiden had deposited him in an abandoned alleyway to stay out of sight of the people, and he made his way out quickly, blending into the crowd.

He had decided to wear a black leather jacket with a grey undershirt, sporting navy blue jeans. He walked down the street, scanning the window stores for any familiar face, but his line of view was often obstructed by the crowd. 

Seeing himself getting nowhere, Hanzo gave up his search, huffing in annoyance as he continued to walk down the street, a different goal in mind. He paused at a neon sign protruding from the side, opening the door and walking inside.

The bar was dimly lit and barely occupied; only three men sat at a circular table in the corner whilst a lone woman sat at the countertop, holding a beer. The bar itself didn't seem to be in bad shape and seeing that as a good thing, Hanzo decided to sit a couple of seats away from the woman and raised a hand to gain the bartender's attention. After giving his order, Hanzo turned to face the other occupants in the bar.

The men in the back were loud and noisy, and Hanzo could smell the stench of booze emanating from them. He turned away in disgust, facing the lone woman beside him. She wore an open jean jacket with a white shirt underneath and black jeans, sitting while she studied the bottle of alcohol, not taking a drink. Hanzo noted that the bottle was still full, and he understood that she had probably not taken a drink at all. 

The bartender passed her with Hanzo's drink, and when the light caught her face, Hanzo inhaled sharply. It was _Kuai_ sitting there by herself, and the shadows on her face seemed to make her all the more miserable in appearance. The bartender cleared his throat, and Hanzo snapped his head to face the man, handing over the bills as he took the beer, looking back to Kuai again. Making up his mind, he got out of his seat and moved closer to her.

She looked up immediately when Hanzo took the seat on her right and groaned under her breath once she realized who he was. "What part of 'piss off' don't you understand?" she grumbled. Hanzo shrugged, pushing aside his drink for the time being. "I've never been good at following orders," he replied. The smile faded from his face as he faced Kuai. "I'm sorry, Kuai. I overstepped my boundaries and forced my ideas onto you unfairly. I'm just worried about you, and sometimes, that can obstruct my thoughts."

Kuai shook her head. "Why do people say that they're sorry? Obviously, they didn't do anything to me. It was some other douchebag that did this to me. Why the fuck do people say that?"

Hanzo bit the inside of his cheek, thinking about his response as he formed the necessary words. "People... don't really know what to do when someone is going through something like that. They just say that to try and show that they care about you."

Kuai shook her head. "There's just so many other things they could say. Are you okay? What are you going to do now? How are you feeling? Aren't those much more fitting questions?" she asked bitterly. Hanzo nodded slowly. "I'm sure that they are. It's just that people don't know what to say, and the only thing they have to say is that. But surely, you can't blame them for that." Kuai sighed, swinging her legs from the high barstool. She glared at her shoes, not looking up once to face Hanzo. Not letting himself get discouraged, he tried to reach for her hand, but she reacted immediately, standing up and taking a step away from him. "For the last time, leave me alone!" she growled at him.

"What's goin' on here?"

Both Kuai and Hanzo turned around to face the three men, who had gotten up and walked over to them when they hadn't been paying attention. Kuai crossed her arms, noting the gun in the waistband of one of the guy's pants. "It's none of your business," she replied warily. "He was just leaving." She turned her head, glaring at him and gestured with her head to him, silently urging him to get out. 

The guy in the front of the group, obviously the ringleader, grinned sinisterly. "It just became our business when you brought all the attention to you, sweetheart." He signaled discreetly, and his two friends moved from behind him, starting to go toward Kuai.

Hanzo stood up, walking up to the men protectively. "Back off," he snarled. The leader shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't you hear? The missus here doesn't want you around. So scram, pretty boy." Hanzo's temper flared up at the man's remark, but out of the corner of his eyes, he realized that while he had been focused on the leader, the two men had walked past him towards Kuai who had been backing up the entire time toward the countertop.

Hanzo lunged toward the men, trying to get them away from her when the leader pulled out a taser of some sort, and Hanzo fell to the ground, muscles spasming from the current of electricity. He looked up weakly, seeing the men corner Kuai when she suddenly grabbed the undrunken bottle of beer. She upended its contents on the face of one of them, forcing him back as the alcohol burned his face and eyes. She faced the other man, smashing the bottle over his head. The bottle shattered from the force, and he slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Kuai grabbed Hanzo's bottle of beer, doing him in the same way that she had taken care of his friend, and he too was knocked out. Suddenly, Hanzo looked toward the ringleader, noting too late that he had his gun drawn, aiming at Kuai. Hanzo couldn't move as he tried to will his body to move, but could only shout out in fear and horror as the gun sounded off. Kuai whirled around, a wall of ice coming between herself and the bullet, and much to Hanzo's relief, the ice had intercepted the bullet. Kuai punched through the ice, making her way to the frightened leader before punching him in the face, watching him fall over to the floor in the same state as his friends.

By now, Hanzo was getting back onto his feet, and Kuai went to his side immediately, helping him onto his feet. "Can you teleport back to the house?" she asked. He nodded, and Kuai formed a barrier of ice over her body to protect her from the fire that accompanied Hanzo's method of travel. 

They landed together in Hanzo's bedroom and Kuai who was supporting him moved him to the bed, setting him down. By now, Hanzo was feeling fully recovered, and as the events of the bar flashed before his eyes, he got up with a start, eyes blazing with anger. "Are you an idiot?!" he shouted at Kuai. 

Kuai crossed her arms indignantly, narrowing her eyes at him. "I took them out and brought your ass here. I could have left you there if I wanted to, you know." Hanzo moved over to her, pointing a finger at her accusingly. "You could have died!" he roared. "He could have killed you! Do you not realize that?! I am _**not**_ going to bury another person!" Kuai pushed him back, snarling in retaliation. "I don't need you babying me every time I do something! I can handle myself fine! I knew what I was doing!"

Hanzo pushed forward, forcing her to take a step back as her back hit the wall. "I promised Tomas that I'd protect you!" he shouted at her, gripping the lapel of her jacket with both hands. "If you had died-" his voice broke off, dissolving into a shaking mess. "If you had died, I would have never forgiven myself," he whispered. 

Kuai stopped, tilting her head as she studied him. "He told you about my suicide attempt, didn't he?" Hanzo growled. "Don't - Don't say that." She rolled her eyes, sighing. "Gods, of all the things to bring up... I was young and foolish, and thought that death was my only way out, Hanzo. Now that I'm older, I have a greater understanding and appreciation for life. I'm never going to do that again, okay?"

Hanzo shook his head. "I could see you lying there on the ground, bleeding out from a bullet would, Kuai! You can't do these things!"

Kuai shook his loosening grip off of her, setting her jaw in defiance. "And by that logic, I guess I should quit fighting altogether. You can't protect me from everything in life, Hanzo. People are born, they live their lives, and then they die. That's what life _is_. We know that we have a limited number of days, so we do our best to do what we want to do with the time we have left. To know that your days are numbered is the greatest gift that life can give; it drives us to do things that we otherwise would put off to do later, and then later until we forget to do them."

Hanzo clenched his fists. "You're not getting it," he ground out through clenched teeth. "You can't just throw your life away!"

Kuai, who had been moving to the door to leave, sighed in frustration as she spun on her heel to face him again. "For fuck's sake, Hanzo! I'm not throwing my damn life away! Just... Just go to sleep. Maybe you'll be more tolerable in the morning," she said, turning her back to him.

Seeing her dismissal of their important conversation brought Hanzo to his limit. He rushed forward, grabbing her shoulder and turned her around to face him forcefully. He had caught her off guard, and on instinct, Kuai sent him crashing back with a gust of wind. 

Her eyes widened when she saw him flying back, sliding against the floor as he hit the opposite wall with a firm hit. She moved forward, crossing the room with a half-apology on her lips when Hanzo got up, fury the only thing on his mind as he rushed at her, tackling her to the ground.

They rolled over each other before Hanzo ended up on top of Kuai, forcing her to stay down. He had managed to grasp both of Kuai's wrists as she tried to punch him to get him off of her, and he pinned them to the ground next to her head as he straddled her body, using his weight to keep her pinned. They were both panting from the exertion, Kuai's cheeks flushed from fighting as she continued to struggle to throw him off of her.

A newly-emerged nightmare had almost come to fruition for Hanzo that night. The image of Kuai lying lifelessly on the ground of that dilapidated bar burned at the forefront of his mind, and all he could think about was losing her, just as he had lost Harumi.

_**He could NOT let that happen again.** _

As he looked down at her, Hanzo felt the fury dissipate, the fiery temper being replaced by a feeling of desperation. Kuai had noticed him staring down at her, and she slowly ceased her struggles, locking eyes with him. When he didn't move, Kuai frowned in confusion and slight worry, and she tilted her head to the side against the hardwood floor. "Are you okay? I didn't hit your head too hard, didn't I?"

The memories of the night swirled chaotically in Hanzo's mind, and without warning, he dipped his head down, crashing his lips against hers. Kuai let out a muffled noise of surprise but relaxed into the kiss after overcoming the initial surprise. She lifted her arms slowly, placing her hands on his shoulders.

The touch of her hands brought Hanzo back to his clear state of mind, and he immediately regretted his actions. Almost as if he had been shot, he jolted back, distancing himself away from her. "I'm sorry," he cried out remorsefully, holding out his hand. "I'm sorry."

Now that she was sitting up, Kuai covered her mouth with one hand, eyes blinking owlishly at him. Slowly, she removed her hand from her face, stuttering out her reply as a reddish hue colored her pale face. "No! It's okay - I mean, it was great... I, uh..." She stumbled over her words, moving her hands to try and communicate what she could not say as Hanzo calmed himself and deciphered what Kuai was trying to get out.

"What I'm trying to say... I -"

"Kuai," Hanzo said softly, cutting her off, "Over the time that I've spent in this house with you, I could feel myself getting closer to you. There was something about spending time with you that took my mind off all my worries and anxiety, and I realized that I was falling in love with you. I felt conflicted about turning away from Harumi, but the dream I had and the talk with you helped me to move past that. And with everything that has happened between the both of us, I am in love with you, Kuai Liang. And if you don't feel the same, I understand. But you have to understand that this is why I am always worried about you." 

Neither one moved for what felt to Hanzo like a long time.

"I think that I love you too, Hanzo," Kuai started, "I just haven't given it too much thought. But I can't deny that I've been getting closer to you, and maybe we could make this work."

Hanzo let out a sigh that he had been holding in, feeling relief sweep through his body. "I can work with that." He got up, walking to Kuai and knelt in front of her as she continued to sit. "I'm going to kiss you again," he said, looking into her eyes, "so please don't punch me."

Kuai blinked once. "Uhh... yeah?" she replied intelligently.

Hanzo leaned in for the second time, pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was more gentle and more coordinated, and he could feel Kuai's hand lift up as she placed it on his cheek.

When they separated, Hanzo looked up to see Kuai's gaze fixated on him. Her eyes were soft and gentle, and all he could see was pure, unadulterated love. "Spend the night with me?" he whispered quietly as if he was afraid that an invisible someone would hear.

The ends of Kuai's mouth lifted up, forming a gentle smile as she closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against Hanzo's. "Yes," she whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS SCENE: (since I was late to get this chapter out. SORRY!)
> 
> From the large oak tree that stood as tall as the house, there was a shadow.
> 
> The shadow moved on its own accord, shifting side to side like a silent, predatory cat surveying its next unfortunate victim. The shadow's pale, white lifeless eyes stared blankly through the window looking into a certain bedroom.
> 
> Unbeknownst to the world, the shadow's hand tightened into a fist as he watched the room's two inhabitants, displeased with every movement they made. 
> 
> The shadow slunk away, dissipating from the environment as it returned to its home realm, malicious thoughts forming within its mind. The shadow reassured itself, putting to rest its impatient thoughts. There would be blood spilled.
> 
> Soon. Very soon.


	10. Lying and Backstabbing (are all that villains seem to be doing these days)

The Netherrealm was _not_ a nice place to live.

One would think this to be common sense, but apparently the realm's resident necromancer did not think so. He firmly insisted that the Netherrealm was the best realm to be in, since "it strengthens my powers!"

Noob Saibot could not hate Quan Chi more for it.

The Netherrealm wraith often drifted off in thought during his boring times of waiting for their inevitable attack. He aspired, one day, to take out Quan Chi and obtain control over the entire domain of the Netherrealm himself. Once he had the entire domain under his control, he would mount an unstoppable attack against the other realms, and abandon this hellish landscape once and for all.

Quan Chi had insisted that doing this would be futile and that trying to unite the vast inhabitants of the Netherrealm would be a waste of time. "They all have their own agendas, with their own dislike for each other," Quan Chi had warned. But Noob was past negotiations. He'd coerce them with threats and force, and if they didn't comply, he'd kill them all. If they wouldn't help him, they were against him. 

And all he had to do, to start this great plan of his, was just to get rid of...

"Report, Saibot."

The damn sorcerer, with his back turned, had managed to pick up on Noob's footsteps as the wraith had tried to sneak upon him. Gritting his teeth at his failed attempt, Noob reluctantly spoke of the _other_ thing that was befouling his mood.

Of all the dishonorable deeds that Kuai Liang could have committed, it was that of befriending the Shirai Ryu. Perhaps it was just sheer luck that he had only watched his younger sibling patch up Noob's murderer. Now, had he stayed longer, he would have witnessed the intimate moment between the two, and he probably would have stormed into the house to kill them both.

Quan Chi smirked as Saibot recounted the event, hiding his sinister grin. Unbeknownst to the wraith, Quan Chi was all-aware of the wraith's impatience and possible betrayal. His mind was linked to the wraith to ensure that he would not be able to betray the necromancer. And to top it all off, Quan Chi held very valuable knowledge. If revealed to the wraith, Saibot would no doubt kill Quan Chi for not revealing it to him sooner, and it would upset everything that he had worked for. 

You see, dear reader, as the powerful sorcerer that Quan Chi is, with the Netherrealm giving him strength, he had managed to discover a long-held secret of Noob Saibot's sibling. And while he planned on using that against the cryomancer in their fight, Saibot would rebel against the sorcerer once he learned of it. 

And so now, Quan Chi had to find a way to dispose himself of this wraith.

After Noob Saibot had finished his seemingly endless tirade, Quan Chi tried to placate him with news that the sorcerer knew would please the wraith. "Now, now, Saibot. Why so impatient? We are ready to launch our attack now, at this very moment."

Saibot turned to face the sorcerer, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You told me that it would take another month, at least," he said in a low, dangerous voice. 

Quan Chi ignored the danger emitting from the wraith, dismissing it entirely. "I lied. I gave you false information because I did not want you to give away our position when you encountered Raiden's forces. Regardless, we now can launch our attack." The sorcerer turned his back to the wraith, looking down at the spellbook propped up on his desk. "We will catch Raiden's forces off guard, and they will not last long against our might." He paused. "Unfortunately, this means that I now have no use for _you_."

Before Noob could comprehend what the sorcerer had said, Quan Chi had turned violently and struck like a viper, slashing repeatedly at Noob with an ornate blade that he had summoned from thin air. Unaware of the attack, Noob was defenseless to the sorcerer, and quickly fell to the ground, bleeding out from his wounds. 

Quan Chi stood triumphantly over the wraith. "When I created you from the darkness, I linked your soul to mine. I knew where you were, what you did, and _what you knew."_ He walked up to Noob, standing over his crouched body. "I knew of your deceit, knave, all this time. With that book, I broke the connection. I can't obtain collateral damage, after all, by killing you with your soul still connected to mine. But now," the sorcerer lifted the blade with the bone hilt in the air, ready to bring it down on Noob's neck, "I am able to do what I have wanted to do for _so_ long." 

He swung down.

The blade embedded itself into the ground, not a trace of blood on the metal, and no sight of the wounded wraith. Quan Chi growled in frustration, realizing that his prey had managed to escape with the powers he had gifted him. He retrieved his blade, abandoning the thoughts of Saibot as he turned around to walk outside to the balcony of his fortress. 

Standing on his perch, Quan Chi looked out, nodding satisfyingly towards his amassed forces of undead warriors and demons of all kinds. He raised his arms in the air, calling out in an amplified voice. "SOON!" he bellowed, "Soon, we will march to the realms! Soon, we will take to the skies and darken the sun! Soon, all the realms will be ours to command! And it starts with our attack on Earthrealm!" Thousands of the dead took up the call, a chorus of screeches and roars filling the empty air. Quan Chi nodded once more, a malicious grin overtaking his face. 

_It wouldn't be much longer. Just a little longer._

* * *

Say that you are a Netherrealm wraith. 

Now, let's get more specific. Say that you're a Netherrealm wraith that has been betrayed and is bleeding out rapidly. As a wraith, you are hated by everyone alive, which goes to say you are hated by every realm _other_ than the Netherrealm. 

Now, say that you're bleeding out and a betrayed Netherrealm wraith that can not go back to your realm, because your attempted killer resides over that realm, now. So, where do you go?

The answer to Noob Saibot could not be more clear. 

Kuai sat in her seat alongside her friends, with Hanzo sitting next to her. She looked down at her lap, noticing Hanzo's folded hands under the table. Discreetly, she moved her hand and grasped one of his hands. Looking from the corner of her peripheral vision, she noticed that his face was starting to color in embarrassment and maybe shyness? She smiled to herself, pretending to be laughing at another one of Johnny's off-handed comments...

The dining table split into two as a dark body fell on top of it.

The kombatants all around jumped back in alarm, some shouting out in surprise at the sudden appearance of an intruder. Raiden, who had been standing off to the side the entire conversation, moved forward with his staff in hand, holding it out in defense against the newcomer. He lowered it quickly, however, upon noticing the wounds on the figure, whose breathing was extremely labored. 

"What the hell is he doin' here?!" Jax shouted out, raising his fists in a warding gesture. Saibot struggled to prop himself up, lifting an arm up in a "timeout" gesture. "Quan Chi... tried to kill me." 

Raiden shook his head in disapproval, looking down at him. "Such is expected when working for a Netherrealm sorcerer, Bi-Han. Why did you come here? You are clearly not welcome."

Noob coughed up blood. "I only ask for your amnesty. I have valuable information to offer, in return."

Raiden turned around, walking to Kuai who was taking in the scene in shock. " _Eirwenella,_ the decision is yours to make. With the powers of the Jinsei and the Elder Gods' consent, I can restore your brother back to his former state. And he may have vital information concerning the attack."

Hanzo walked up, placing a hand on Kuai's shoulder. "And on the _other_ hand, Raiden, this asshole is the reason why there is no Lin Kuei at the moment."

Jade looked up to them, her hands applying pressure to one of the particularly big gashes. "Whatever it is, do it fast! He's losing a lot of blood."

Kuai looked down at the broken figure that was her older brother. How odd it was, that she was now in a higher position of power, and now _his_ life was in _her_ hands. She could easily take it away, and she knew that she would be justified in her choice.

And yet...

Kuai shut her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth in frustration. She would _not_ stoop down to Bi-Han's level. "Let's hear what he has to say," Kuai said, nodded reluctantly. "And afterward, we can decide as a collective unit if he should _stay_ alive."

Raiden was quick to go to Noob's fallen form and with a flash of light, they both disappeared from the scene. 

Sonya kicked the shattered remains of their once intact dining table, with a displeased frown on his face. "He couldn't even come here without wrecking something, huh?"

Kuai covered her face with her hands. "Did I do the right thing?" she whispered, looking up at Hanzo almost desperately.

Hanzo pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame in a comforting warm hug. "It would have been a cruel and cold thing to kill him. I'm proud of you."

*Cough*

Not letting go of Kuai, Hanzo turned only his head in annoyance at Kenshi, who was standing off to the side with a shit-eaten grin on his face. "So... did I miss something?" he asked coyly, eyebrows waggling up and down in a teasing manner.

Kuai lifted a free hand and froze his mouth shut, keeping her face tucked in Hanzo's chest the entire time.

And if Hanzo laughed a real laugh as he watched Kenshi sprawl around, trying to claw off the ice from his face that took everyone in the room off guard, well, no one needed to know.

* * *

Raiden stood at the doors of the Jinsei, barring any method of escape for the captive that was being healed.

Of all their enemies, Noob Saibot was a figure that had always troubled him. Raiden was able to discern the motives of all other enemies, but Saibot stumped him in this field. He couldn't understand what caused him to become so keen to turn his back on his family and to go to such great lengths to kill them. 

He had brought the injured Saibot before the Elder Gods, and they themselves had restored the wraith to his human form to ensure that no trace of darkness remained. Raiden still brought him to the Jinsei to undergo a final cleaning before his interrogation, his doubts looming heavily over his mind.

Bi-Han had his back turned to the only other occupant in the Jinsei Chamber, ignoring Raiden's presence entirely in a childish manner. Raiden sighed internally. _It seems that Quan Chi's transformations also have the unintended effect of reducing these wraiths into stubborn children. Lucky me._

In an attempt to break through the silence, Raiden decided to try and get his burning question answered. "It escapes my realm of thinking about how one could turn his back on family. Why?"

Bi-Han whipped around, glaring at Raiden with an air of indignation. "Kuai Liang is _not_ my brother. I don't have a brother."

Raiden resisted the urge to sigh in frustration, calming himself. "But Kuai Liang is your sibling!"

The other man shook his head fervently. "No. Kuai Liang and I are not related. I had a baby _sister_ ," he spat out. "I loved her. I promised my mother that I would protect her, and from the moment she was born, she was _perfect._ We had a close connection that couldn't be broken. And then," he said, eyes narrowing, "my father took me away from my mother and sister to the Lin Kuei. I tried my entire life to find them again but always failed. The next year, my father brought a boy. Kuai Liang. He was the same age that my younger sister would have been, and I thought I could _pretend_. It didn't work. I always remembered the sister I had lost. For all I know, my father killed both of them." 

Raiden started to see the pieces click together, and a small hope grew within him. "What was your sister's name, might I ask?"

Bi-Han looked off to the walls, eyes distant. "Eirwen. It was something akin to a soft snowfall in meaning. I believe there was some variation after the name, but that was it." Raiden let out a breath he had been holding in, eyes wide in astonishment. Now, everything made sense.

"Bi-Han, when Kuai Liang was brought to the Lin Kuei, your father had changed Kuai's appearance. He brought Kuai Liang as a young boy, but..." Raiden paused. "Kuai Liang is a girl." Bi-Han's head snapped up immediately. "You lie," he hissed, his stance tensing up defensively. Raiden pressed onward. "You may not have recognized her, but she did recognize you. It must have broken her heart when you stopped caring for her. When you hurt her."

Bi-Han shook his head furiously. "No. She is not Kuai Liang. I wouldn't have done that to my sister. I _promised_ ," his voice quivered slightly.

Raiden saw this and sought to try and reach out to him. " _Eirwenella._ It's one of her spiritual names given to her by the Medallion. Your mother was a cryomancer. She would have known her child's spiritual names, and thus named her for it."

Bi-Han let out a broken cry. "Shut up!" He stormed out of the Jinsei, moving toward Raiden with a fist raised. Raiden noticed that there were tears forming in his eyes, and he backed away cautiously, not wanting to strike and lose his trust. 

The door leading into the Jinsei opened behind Raiden, and someone stepped through. "Raiden? I got your message and Hanzo brought me here. You wanted to see me?"

Both Raiden and Bi-Han turned to the newcomer. Kuai was wearing her mask and had her hood drawn over her head, looking rapidly between the two and surveying the situation. "On the other hand, if you want me to leave, I can," she said slowly, starting to leave.

"No!" both Raiden and Bi-Han shouted out at the same time, and Kuai stopped moving, lifting her hands up in surrender. "Please, take off your mask Kuai," Raiden said firmly, looking behind to see Bi-Han's face. "It's urgent."

Kuai frowned in confusion, eyes darting between the two as she lifted her hands to her face. She unclasped the mask, holding it in one hand while she used the other to remove the hood. Her long hair tumbled down over her shoulder, not having the time to put her hair up in a ponytail in her hurry to get there. 

As soon as her face was unveiled, Bi-Han seemed to choke on the air, laughing humorously and turned away. "Oh, god." Raiden opened the door, ushering a very confused Kuai out of the room as Raiden locked the doors with her outside before going to Bi-Han.

The man was shaking his head in denial. "No. This isn't real. This-" He broke off, crouching low to the floor as silent sobs started to rack his body. Raiden looked down at him in pity. "You can still salvage your relationship with her," he insisted.

Bi-Han looked up at him, eyes red. "How?! I made her childhood a living hell, killed off her clan, and told her that we were not family! She hates me!" Raiden crossed his arms. "It starts with small things. You can start by helping us defeat Quan Chi, and then, start spending time with her. Apologize, and then work to earn her trust. You'll find that she has a very forgiving heart." Bi-Han turned away, walking in ambient circles before coming back to Raiden, nodding slowly. "Quan Chi is ready to launch his attack."

Raiden jerked backward in shock, not ready for this information. Bi-Han continued, oblivious to the god’s dismay. “He has been building his forces in secret this entire time, and he will undoubtedly start his attack very soon, within the next hours or days."

The Thunder God worried over this newly obtained information, nodding slowly. "This brings a great sudden adjustment to our plans. Come with me. We must tell the others."

* * *

Back at the house, Johnny was starting to sweat. His eyes darted between his weapons of choice, looking up to face his opponents who were staring mockingly back at him. He slowly selected his tools, throwing them down into the pile. 

"Three sixes," Johnny declared.

Jax smirked in victory. "That's bullshit." Johnny groaned, taking the pile of cards that had been growing steadily on the ground. "Damn it! I hate you guys," he grumbled. 

Kenshi shook his head. "You just need a better poker face." The blind swordsman threw his last card at the ground. "One seven." 

Johnny's eyes widened. "Wait, if it's right, you win! I call bullshit on you!" Kenshi flipped his card, and a chorus of groans filled the air. 

"How the hell does a blind guy beat us at a card game?" Sonya grumbled, throwing her cards to the ground dejectedly.

At that moment, the sound of a fire swooshing in a circle resounded outside, and Kuai and Hanzo entered the house, joining the others. Liu Kang nodded amiably toward them both, a sour smile on his face from the loss of the game. "What did Raiden want?" he asked.

Kuai shrugged. "Honestly? I have no fucking idea." She flopped down on the couch, covering the entire space with her whole body, and looked up to see Hanzo standing over her. "Move," he said shortly, gesturing with his hand. She rolled her eyes, complying as she made room for him to sit down next to her.

Kung Lao joined them in the living room, sitting in another armchair as he smirked at the two assassins. "Back from your honeymoon?" he teased. Sonya looked up from the kitchen, frowning at the Shaolin. "Shut up, Lao. They're cute together!" By now, it seemed that everyone knew about Kuai's and Hanzo's developing relationship, and exasperated as she was, Kuai was thankful for the support generated from her friends.

Kuai rolled her eyes. "Tell me, how's asking out Jade working out for you?" Hanzo snorted amusedly, jumping up slightly as Kuai lay down, resting her head on his lap. 

Kung Lao coughed as his head turned beet red, glaring at Hanzo. "What are you laughing at?" Hanzo shook his head. "Nothing. Fuck off and bother someone else, second-rate Liu Kang."

Before Kung Lao could utter a retort, Raiden appeared before them, Bi-Han standing behind him. The Thunder God stepped forward, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Things have changed," he said. "Bi-Han has revealed to me that Quan Chi is ready to mount an attack _now."_

Kitana stood up from a still-intact dining chair. "So soon?" she asked, dismayed. 

Raiden sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "Yes. Get prepared. Bi-Han knows the location of the first attack. We will dispatch there at once." 

From behind the Thunder God, Bi-Han spoke up. "It's not as simple as you think. Quan Chi plans to launch a three-pronged attack. One in New York, one in Kenya, and another in Hong Kong. Once his armies have taken over, they will have a wide area from which Quan Chi can work his magic, and he will convert all the realms into a Netherrealm-like state."

Raiden frowned. "Then we must split up into several groups. The Special Forces, Shaolin with the Edenians, and the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu." Bi-Han shook his head. "No. In Hong Kong, Quan Chi will be there alone. He protects himself in an area where only those tainted by death can enter. Only when his forces are triumphant will he cast his spell." He turned to look at Kuai, and she flinched slightly, seeing those same dark eyes that had haunted her dreams in the past. "She can not enter. She has not been affected by the Netherrealm in the same way that Scorpion and I have been."

Kuai felt Hanzo tense up beside her, and she leaned against him for support. Obviously, hearing his former alias unsettled him. Raiden stepped forward confidently, addressing Bi-Han's statement. "On the contrary, Kuai's Medallion will break through all enchantments. She will be an important ally in your fight. And Bi-Han, you will accompany them. Prove to us your worth."

Hanzo had recovered his wits by now and frowned in concern, stepping forward. "He is a liability, Raiden. We can not trust him, and for all we know, he could betray us at any moment." Raiden shook his head. "Have faith, Hasashi. I have his word, and that is good enough for me." He turned to face them all collectively, a solemn and grave expression on his face. "Go and get ready. We dispatch now." He left them, taking great long strides out of the house.

Kuai watched Raiden leave, biting her lower lip in concern over this newly-acquired bit of information. It just seemed to be happening way too fast for her liking, but she knew that she should not have relied on their schedule. After all, anything could happen, and she should have been better prepared for it.

"Stop thinking so much," Hanzo muttered softly. He wrapped an arm around her side, standing next to her and holding her close. "We'll all get through this, okay?"

Kuai sighed, relaxing in the warmth that Hanzo's body offered her. The tension slowly was released from her body, and she nodded slowly in response. "Right. Of course." 

"What do you think you're doing, Scorpion?"

Hanzo let go of Kuai, gently disentangling himself from her as he turned around to face Bi-Han, who was standing and leaning against a wall in the living room that they were all in. The others had left to collect their things, leaving them alone. Bi-Han pushed himself off the wall, walking toward them both like a tiger stalking its prey. "Stay away from my sister," he hissed menacingly.

Kuai glared at Bi-Han, pushing herself between the two men and faced her older brother. "What gives you the right? You've never been an older brother to me in life, and now you want to butt in and take over your 'duties'? You didn't protect me, nor did you help me when we were in the Lin Kuei. You have no right to dictate what I do with my life," she snapped. 

Bi-Han jolted back, and Kuai thought she saw a glint of pain and hurt in his eyes before they returned to their dark and harsh brown once again. "I did not know it was you," he argued. "You went by another name than the one I knew you by, and you didn't look like my sister at all! How was I supposed to know?"

Kuai crossed her arms, putting up a cold front. "So, just because I wasn't your sister, that gave you the excuse to belittle me and attack me? If I had been another person, you wouldn't give me a second glance, would you? You'd just do the same things you did to me." Indignation was building up in Kuai's stomach. "You and I may share blood, but for as long as your heart is cold and unforgiving, we are not siblings."

She turned on her heel, going upstairs to escape Bi-Han's presence. Saying what she had said had given her a rush of energy and adrenaline, and she felt elated and satisfied that she had managed to get everything off of her chest. She unlocked the door of her room, entering it and locking it behind her.

When she turned around, Hanzo was sitting on her bed.

Kuai, normally calm and collected, jumped a foot in the air and gave an undignified shriek of shock, and instinctively threw a ball of ice at him in reflex. Hanzo's eyes widened, and he fell to the floor to avoid the projectile, which landed on the wall behind him. From the floor, he looked up at Kuai with a shocked look on his face. 

"Don't fucking scare me like that!" Kuai cried out angrily, grabbing a pillow from her bed and smacked it over Hanzo's head. He chuckled with his deep voice light-heartedly. "I apologize," he replied amusedly, standing up again on his feet as he sat back down on the edge of the bed. 

Kuai huffed in slight exasperation, moving about the room busily as she packed her things into a backpack. Hanzo got up, going beside her to help without saying a word. They arranged the items neatly in the backpack, and Kuai finally spoke up quietly.

"I have a bad feeling about this one," she muttered. "I never feel uncomfortable before any sort of fight, even with our fight against Shao Kahn. But now, I can't shake the feeling that I might not make it out alive."

Hanzo clenched his teeth together, his jawline tensing. He remembered the prophecy that Kuai's ancestors had unveiled to him, and he shook his head. "Don't say that."

Kuai stopped, letting her hands rest on the top of the dresser. "If I don't live through to see the end-" Hanzo dropped the knives that he was about to place in the travel bag, turning to face Kuai as he grabbed her hands and held their clasped hands between their bodies. 

"No one is going to die," he asserted firmly, looking into the depths of her eyes. "It's not going to happen, so stop saying that. I'm not going to let that happen, okay?"

Kuai bit the inside of her cheek worriedly, thinking of all the possibilities where everything could go wrong, but slowly nodded once. "Okay. Just... don't linger on me for too long." 

They resumed what they had been doing, a nervous and apprehensive atmosphere suffocating the room.

* * *

Raiden had brought them to a general area nearby their intended destination as to not arouse any suspicion by any residing enemies.

This meant that Kuai had to travel with her murderous brother and her "kind of" boyfriend through a snowy mountain pass to get to the village where Quan Chi would appear at the height of the attack. 

And as expected, Bi-Han and Hanzo did _not_ get along.

They had already squabbled before Raiden brought them to the beginning of the mountain pass, and as they climbed up the wooden staircase with Kuai leading the group, she felt herself tiring of their fighting. She tried to ignore their words, trying instead to focus on the fresh air that was at the top of the mountain.

Half an hour in, and admiring the scenery proved to be doing very little to help ignore the two men. She chose to listen in, and immediately regretted it.

"Why the hell does she trust you over me?" Bi-Han snarled. Kuai did _not_ want to be dragged into this conversation. 

Hanzo, the last one in the line, glared at Bi-Han's back. "Because I didn't torment her childhood, maybe? And maybe because I'm a genuinely nice person?"

Bi-Han laughed mockingly. "Oh, I'm sure," he said sarcastically. "Because being a nice person would make her trust a Shirai Ryu over her brother."

Hanzo tried to hold his tongue, he _swore_ he did, but the opportunity had been handed to him, and he couldn't resist. "She'll be calling me _daddy_ soon, right after we get through with this."

Kuai squawked indignantly as Bi-Han froze in place, taking in those words. "Shut up, Hanzo!" she snapped, face flushing. The Shirai Ryu had the sense to look ashamed, looking down at his feet in shame. "Sorry."

Bi-Han turned to face Hanzo face-on. "I'm going to fucking kill you, you fucker!" Kuai grabbed her brother's shoulders, holding him back. "Stop! We're more than a hundred miles in the air, and I'd prefer to not die by falling on a rock face, thanks!"

Bi-Han shook off her grip but did not attack Hanzo. Kuai sighed, understanding now that she had to take control, or they would never get there. "Bi-Han, you get in front of me. I'm going to separate you two from now on." After she positioned Bi-Han in front of her, she turned back to Hanzo. She gripped the lapel of his uniform, glaring at him furiously. "If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to freeze it shut, and even the Elder Gods won’t stop me. _Nî lîjiê ma?"_ Without waiting for his response, she let go of his uniform, shoving him back a little. "Don't tempt him," she hissed in finality before turning around again to follow Bi-Han's footsteps.

Hanzo nodded quickly, not wanting to be on the back end of Kuai’s anger and followed her meekly up the wooden staircase. The walk progressed in silence, and Kuai felt an immense amount of relief upon obtaining this new golden standard.

They continued to climb as the sun in the sky started to move across the blue canvas, descending behind them on their backs. As the clouds started to color pink and red, the trio had managed to finish trekking through the mountain pass and had walked a great length to reach the outskirts of the village. According to Bi-Han, this was where Quan Chi would appear. The three of them were crouched in the brush on a cliff’s edge, surveying the landscape below them.

”This is the place,” Bi-Han muttered lowly so that Kuai and Hanzo could hear him. ”Let’s go down and rent a hotel room for the night.”

Kuai lifted a hand. ”Hold on. Something’s not right.” She pointed down towards the bustling villagers who were going through their daily activities. ”Look at them,” she whispered. ”What’s wrong with their eyes?”

There may not have been anything wrong with the villagers looking from a distance away, it was clear to the assassins that the people were not themselves. As indicated by Kuai, their eyes were clouded, masking their irises and pupils entirely with a fog. They walked aimlessly, almost as if they did not know where they were going. Kuai felt uneasy, looking down at the sight. To see them move about in that manner was... _weird_.

Hanzo shook his head. ”They are under a trance. Quan Chi must have come here before and taken over the land. If we enter, they may bring his attention and cause him to come here.”

Bi-Han scowled, tilting his head to face Hanzo, who was on the other side of Kuai. ”And you would know, wouldn't you?” he growled, keeping his voice low.

Kuai sighed miserably. ”Guys...”

Hanzo stood up a little taller, fixating a similar glare at Kuai’s brother. ”No one asked for your opinion, so shut up!” he whisper-shouted.

Kuai rolled her eyes. ”Elder Gods, please end my suffering.”

Unfortunately for Kuai, the Elder Gods once again kept to their ”laissez-faire” approach, so she was left to fix it herself. 

Snapping her fingers, Kuai formed a sheet of ice over the two men’s mouths, and they both struggled to remove it, groans of protest coming from the both of them. Kuai ignored them both, narrowing her eyes as she surveyed the land.

”Oh, shut up.” She pointed to a low depression in the town that took the form of a small circle. ”Look, over there. If we can box Quan Chi in there and surround him, then maybe we can overpower him and subdue him. We won't be able to enter the village for the night, but we can set up camp outside.”

Indecipherable mutters of agreement sounded out.

Kuai sighed, standing up and crossed her arms as she fixed a scrutinizing gaze on them both. “Look. I’m going to remove the ice,” she said in a chiding tone, ”but if I hear _one_ more mocking or rude word from either of you, I'm freezing your mouths shut until we're done with this. Got it?”

At their nods, Kuai relented, and they were then both rubbing their mouths, trying to shake off the chill. Hanzo gave Kuai a dirty look. "You know I could have just melted it off, right?" Kuai shrugged in response. "You love me too much," she teased, a soft smile on her face.

Bi-Han watched the exchange silently, and he picked up on a few things. He noticed Kuai's face as she looked at Hanzo, her expression full of love and affection. While he would have preferred anyone else, Bi-Han did have to admit that Hasashi was an honorable man, and thus he could not complain about Kuai's decision whatsoever. She was right. It wasn't his decision to make; she was her own person who could make her own life decisions. 

The trio stepped away from the village, putting distance between them and the townspeople so that they would not be able to see their camp. No fire was made, as this would clearly draw attention to them. Kuai brought two blankets from her backpack, one of which she bundled up to act as a makeshift pillow, and the other she used to cover her body. Hanzo sat in a crouched position, leaning against a tree for support. Upon seeing Kuai's gaze fixated on him, he smiled gently in a relaxing manner. "I'll take first watch," he said, "Get some sleep. I'll wake up Bi-Han after an hour, and then he'll wake up you."

Kuai nodded, returning Hanzo's smile with one of her own. "Alright," she whispered. "Goodnight, Hanzo."

As she drew up the blanket over her shoulders and closed her eyes, Kuai felt the sensation of a pressing of lips on her temple, and she settled into a light sleep, the worries of their mission disappearing from her mind.


	11. The Grand Finale (as dubbed by Johnny Cage)

As an assassin that had been brought up by the Lin Kuei, Kuai Liang had been taught to sleep lightly.

It was an important part of their job; one should be prepared to be attacked in their sleep, and as a result, Kuai would be aroused at the slightest motion around her that would bring her out of her tranquil state of peace.

So when she sat upright in her makeshift bed in the middle of the night, eyes wide and breathing short, Kuai knew instinctively that something was _very_ wrong. She looked to her side, seeing that Hanzo was asleep, and this meant...

Kuai turned her head, trying to locate where her brother was. Only adding to her apprehensive state, Kuai failed to find him. Immediately, she made her way to Hanzo's side, shaking him violently. Hanzo stirred from sleep, rubbing his eyes to eliminate the drowsy feeling. "What?" he asked, concern bleeding through his voice. Kuai made brief eye contact with him, trying to communicate her panic through her irises. "Bi-Han's gone."

Hanzo sat upright, scanning the environment and seeing that Kuai was right. He cursed under his breath, drawing his sword from its sheath as he stood up on his feet, Kuai joining him. "For all we know, he returned to Quan Chi," he hissed. 

Kuai felt a twinge of disappointment in her chest but swallowed it down. She should have expected Bi-Han to turn his back on them from the start, but some part of her had hoped that he would have turned a new leaf over. 

In the darkness behind the trees, Kuai squinted. Her eyes widened when she spotted movement in the darkness, and she tugged on Hanzo's sleeve. "There's something in the darkness. I think we're being surrounded," she said, her voice rising in volume. Hanzo had his back turned to her, and Kuai knew that he was looking behind her. "You're not wrong," he growled grimly. He lifted his sword in a battle stance, and Kuai was quick to form dual knives in hands, getting into her stance. The two assassins had their backs pressed together, watching each other's blindside for the oncoming onslaught.

From the cleavage of the forestry emerged their attackers. Kuai cursed aloud when she realized that they were being surrounded by the entranced villagers, who were mindlessly making their way towards the two. Hanzo huffed anxiously. They both knew that these townsfolk were innocent bystanders who had been unfortunately been caught up in the fray. "We can't kill them," Kuai said in a cautionary tone. Hanzo shifted from one foot to the other, eyes narrowing as he surveyed their circumstances. 

"Shit," Kuai breathed out. She crushed the ice weapons in her hands as Hanzo impaled his sword into the soft earth, both lifting their arms in defeat and surrender. From behind Kuai and in the darkness of their surroundings came a menacing chuckle. Kuai turned around Hanzo to face the Netherrealm sorcerer as he finally made his grand appearance.

He was dressed for konquest, having donned his battle armor. The skulls on his kneecaps grinned hollowly up at Kuai, almost mockingly. She fixed a cold glare on their enemy and felt the rising agitation of Hanzo beside her. _He must want to kill Quan Chi badly, especially since he wants his revenge._ Kuai knew that Hanzo's anger could get them both killed, and she tried to message him to calm down.

"Welcome back, Scorpion," Quan Chi said in a sly voice. "And here I was starting to think that I had lost your companionship forever." 

Hanzo seethed, and Kuai noticed with dismay that there were building flames on his forearms. "You will not control me ever again, sorcerer. By the end of this night, your life will be mine." Kuai's eyes widened when she saw Bi-Han emerge from the shadows, standing slightly behind Quan Chi as he stared blankly at Kuai and Hanzo. 

Quan Chi smirked at their expressions. "Yes, Bi-Han was easy to bring back under my control with my previous hold over him. Only this time, I ensured to remove all independence from his mind." He fixated a scornful glance at the wraith beside him for a second before looking back to Kuai and Hanzo. "And just as I was able to bring back Bi-Han under my control once again, I will do the same to you, Hanzo Hasashi. You will live an eternity as Scorpion."

Before anyone of them could react, Kuai found herself falling through space, and she landed on firm solid ground, groaning at the impact. Looking up, she noticed that they had been brought to the heart of the village; the depression that she had noted earlier. Also, too late did she realize that in their confusion, Hanzo had been distanced from Kuai. The Lin Kuei could only watch in horror and dismay as her only other ally fell at Quan Chi's feet, shouting out in pain.

Kuai got back onto her feet, catching sight of Bi-Han, now Noob Saibot, as he circled dangerously around her. Kuai cast a glance at Quan Chi and the spot where Hanzo used to be, noting that he was gone. As soon as she saw this, she felt the air shift behind her head.

Thinking quickly, Kuai dove to the ground, avoiding the divekick that would have otherwise connected with the back of her head. Standing back up straight, Kuai formed a sword of ice, readying herself. Standing before her were Noob Saibot and the newly converged Scorpion, who had been brought back with Quan Chi's magic. The sorcerer made a dismissive gesture as he turned away. "Kill her," he expressed bluntly, "while I gather my strength."

Kuai stood her ground as both wraiths charged at her. She parried a downward strike of Noob's scythe with the sword only to receive a kick to the ribs by Scorpion. She felt her chest give way and knew that some of her ribs had been broken with the impact. Reeling back, she gasped for air and abandoned the idea of using weapons, which would only save her from one of her attackers.

She channeled her inner energy, calling on the Medallion. Her eyes glowed an ethereal blue, the light from her eyes shining brightly in the darkness. With a loud cry, she directed her hands at Saibot's and Scorpion's general direction, forcing them backward with a gust of wind. Not wasting her advantage, Kuai was quick to rush in. She focused on attacking Saibot first since she had a life-long experience of dealing with Scorpion, herself. With a few well-placed blows, Kuai was able to render her undead brother unconscious. To ensure that he wouldn't be a problem in the future, Kuai encased his body in ice, layering the ice such that it would be impossible for him to break out of his temporary prison.

However, while she had been preoccupied with her task of restraining her brother, Scorpion had been able to recover, and snuck up behind her, grabbing her in a firm chokehold. Kuai grunted, kicking backward at his kneecap. When his leg gave way to the force, Kuai used her weight to fall downward, pulling Scorpion over her head and throwing him over her body. He landed on the ground in front of her with an audible thump, and both he and Kuai got back on their feet at the same time.

The hellspawn glared heatedly at Kuai. "With your death, I will avenge my family and clan!" 

Kuai groaned, rolling her eyes. "Great. Back to Square One, are we?"

Scorpion disappeared from view, and Kuai turned around immediately, blocking the teleporting punch that was thrown in her direction. She continued to block Scorpion's hardened blows as he continued to push her back. Kuai was struggling to keep up with the ferocity of his attacks and instead focused on trying to find an opening. As he drew back his fist, Kuai saw her chance, and channeled her chi, calling on the currents of the nearby river to her aid. 

The water cascaded around her figure, forming a protective sphere. As Scorpion tried to strike, Kuai sent the water at him, forcing him back with the water. The force of the blow made Scorpion crash through several village huts, and Kuai knew that the blow was enough to render him unconscious from the fight. 

With these issues taken care of, Kuai now focused on the main enemy. She cautiously made her way out of the gorge in the valley, reaching the top where Quan Chi was standing. He sneered at Kuai. "Still alive? Well, if you want something done, you just have to do it yourself." He pulled out a blade with a pale bone hilt from thin air, and Kuai prepared herself for kombat once more. "I offer you the chance to walk away," Quan Chi cautioned. "Think, Sub-Zero. I could bring back your friend, Smoke, from the dead. I would leave you alone, and the rest of your friends. You just have to walk away."

Kuai narrowed her eyes. "How do I know that my friends are not dead already? As far as I am concerned, you were aware of our locations. And I would never want Tomas to be brought back as one of your undead perversions. Take your fucking offer and stick it up your ass," she spat.

Quan Chi's eyes narrowed. "Not all of them, Sub-Zero. Just the Shaolin and the Edenians. But soon, I will have the souls of the Earthrealmers, and then yours!" He launched himself at Kuai, blade raised over his head.

Kuai formed her blade, using it to block the strike. She pushed Quan Chi off of their interlocked swords, spinning around and slashing outward with her Kori blade. Quan Chi had to back away to avoid coming into contact with the sword, and he retaliated with a lunge. 

The two continued to try and land a strike and then went to retreat. Kuai started to become frustrated, and she knew that she would not be able to keep this up for much longer. She had to find a way to end this fight while she still could. Remembering something that Raiden had told her earlier, she managed to push Quan Chi away with a bold swipe down at his head.

While he was preoccupied with dodging the strike, Kuai focused on the air particles surrounding his head. Her eyes narrowed as she created a barrier around his head, preventing any oxygen from entering his mouth or nose. Quan Chi's eyes widened, from both the asphyxiation and shock at what was happening. He tried to work his magic, lifting both hands to Kuai to try and prevent her from what she was doing.

In response, Kuai reinforced her attack, extending her right hand at Quan Chi's direction. She watched as Quan Chi's eyes started to roll to the back of his head, and just when she had managed to kill him by robbing him of oxygen...

"GET OVER HERE!"

Kuai registered the sharp penetrating pain in her left shoulder, and she felt herself being yanked backward. She landed on her back in the gorge, groaning as she tried to sit up. When she had gotten back on her feet, the kunai that was still in her shoulder pulled her closer to Scorpion, and she pulled desperately at it to try and dislodge it from her body, but all to no avail. She was brought within Scorpion's radius and felt a coldness in her gut that rivaled that of her powers.

Looking down through blurring vision, Kuai gasped with pain and shock upon seeing the blade embedded in her gut. Wryly, she thought back to her encounter with Hanzo at the house when he had attacked her but was quickly brought back to the situation when Scorpion forced her onto her knees. 

His hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off airflow and circulation to her head, and Kuai gripped his wrists in reflex, unable to concentrate on using her powers. She could belatedly pick up on Quan Chi's labored breathing and coughing, and Kuai knew that she had failed in killing him. Her eyes snapped up to Scorpion's clouded undead eyes as she gasped for air. "I didn't kill your family," she rasped out. "It was Quan Chi! You have to believe me!"

Scorpion's grip tightened around her neck. "Liar," he hissed. Kuai now could no longer gasp for air, and she felt lightheaded from the lack of air and blood. The asphyxiation may have been the main thing holding her back from defending herself, but Kuai knew that it was the blood loss that was killing her. 

Kuai thought back to the past days that she had spent with her friends, and thought more of Hanzo than the others. She fixated on his smile, his caring and soft nature when they were alone and he could give up his "tough guy" facade. All the time they could have spent together, lost.

"I'm sorry," Kuai wheezed out, coughing up blood. "I love you, Hanzo."

As Scorpion looked down at the Lin Kuei's life he held in his hands, he felt tempted to snap her neck right then and there, but something in her voice convinced him to let go. He dropped her, watching as she fell to the ground, and swiveled his head upward to where Quan Chi was. In a burst of flame, he appeared before the Netherrealm sorcerer.

Quan Chi was kneeling on the ground, a hand soothing his neck as he took in air. He looked up at Scorpion and then cast a derisive look down at Kuai's dying body. "A shame," he uttered, thinking she was dead, "With her power, I may be able to coerce the realms more quickly."

This did not settle right in Scorpion's mind, and thinking back to what the Lin Kuei had told him earlier, he faced Quan Chi. "Did you kill my family?" he growled, fists clenched at his sides. 

Quan Chi looked up suddenly, eyes growing wide for a split second before he composed himself. "Of course not," he lied through his teeth. "Those are just Lin Kuei lies. Now come, we have much to do, Scorpion."

As Scorpion was about to follow him, he heard a voice from behind him.

* * *

_"Hanzo!"_

_Scorpion spun around, the surroundings foggy and distant. Nothing moved around him, including Quan Chi who was stuck mid-step as he was going to commence his ritual. Scorpion gazed at two people he thought he would never see again._

"Harumi?" he breathed out, shocked.

_His wife stood before him, that same small smile on her face. In her arms was their son, Satoshi, who was just an infant when he had been killed. Harumi walked up to Scorpion, standing before him. Scorpion lifted his hand to try and caress his wife's cheek, but his hand phased through her face. Harumi gave him an amused yet bittersweet smile._

_"I am dead, Hanzo," she said as if she were scolding a child. "We can not hold nor touch each other."_

_Scorpion felt tears run down his face._ "Why did you come to see me, beloved?"

_Harumi's smile faded, becoming a frown. "To lead you onto the right path, husband. Quan Chi deceives you. He killed me, your son, and your clan. He means to deceive you and destroy the realms. You must kill him."_

_Scorpion jerked back._ "So then the Lin Kuei spoke the truth? The Lin Kuei are not responsible?"

_Harumi smiled encouragingly. "Precisely. While Quan Chi conspired with the Lin Kuei, it was only Sektor who was responsible, not the entirety of the Lin Kuei." She turned to look at Kuai's body, which lay unmoving in the dirt. She sighed sympathetically. "Poor soul. She had just gained her family, only to lose it again. Losing you will hurt her most of all."_

_Scorpion snapped his head to look back at Harumi._ "She acted as if she knew me." _Harumi nodded once. "Yes. You got very close to her, and you both fell in love. It is time to move on, Hanzo. Live your life, and don't be afraid to forge new relationships." She lifted a hand, holding his cheek. "I know that you'll do the Shirai Ryu proud."_

_Scorpion nodded once, eyes closed. "I won't ever forget, beloved."_

_Harumi smiled softly. "Don't forget, but don't linger."_

_And after she uttered these words, the haziness surrounding them disappeared, and with it, Harumi and Satoshi._

* * *

With the disappearance of his wife and son, Scorpion was brought back to the present.

Slowly, he turned around, glaring at the Netherrealm sorcerer who had lied to him this entire time, the one responsible for the demise of his loved ones. He unraveled his kunai, and upon hearing the sound of the chains clanking against each other, Quan Chi turned around to face Scorpion.

"What-" Quan Chi looked down, seeing the kunai in Scorpion's hand. When he looked up at the wraith, Scorpion only saw fear in the sorcerer's eyes.

**"GET OVER HERE!!!"**

Quan Chi was reeled in as the weapon burrowed into his chest, falling to the ground before Scorpion's feet. The wraith unsheathed his sword, lifting it in the air as he glared down at his tormenter, this demon that had inflicted all this suffering on his life.

The blade swung down on his neck.

The Netherrealm sorcerer's decapitated head fell to the ground, rolling shortly before it came to a full stop.

Scorpion pulled his kunai from the sorcerer's chest, turning away from the body. Looking down at the gorge, he noted the still-frozen body of Noob Saibot, before his eyes swiveled to the fallen form of the Lin Kuei warrior he had slain.

He rushed down the slope of the gorge, running to Sub-Zero's side as he turned her on her back. Crouching on the ground, he propped her head on his leg, looking at the wound where his sword had impaled her. 

Scorpion ripped off the lower half of his sleeves, using the cloth to cut off the flow of blood leaking from Kuai's stomach. Much to his dismay, he found that it didn't seem to be helping much, and he growled in frustration. If what Harumi had told him was true, then the Lin Kuei's last memory would be that of her loved one wielding the sword responsible for her death. Now, it started to rain, and the water from the sky made the ground sleek, turning the earth under them into a mud mixture.

"Come on!" Scorpion snapped, a feeling of desperation overcoming his senses. "Don't give up!" 

Kuai's face was unnaturally pale, a snow-white instead of the regular pale face she usually had. The natural pink flush in her cheeks was gone, and she was hardly breathing. 

Seconds later, she stopped breathing.

Scorpion moved away from her stomach wound, falling back to the ground in defeat. He may have been able to avenge his clan and family by slaying Quan Chi, but he had failed the Lin Kuei who had no part in Scorpion's suffering and only wanted the best for him. In a sense, he had betrayed her. Emotion overtook him, and he crumbled into a ball, covering his face with his hands as he lay Kuai's head off of his legs and onto the ground.

As she lay there with her eyes closed, it looked almost as if she could have been sleeping peacefully. Scorpion looked away, not wanting to see the face of the one he had failed. As he looked at the ground away from her body, he noticed with astonishment that the rain was not falling.

He looked around him, seeing the raindrops still in the air, not moving at all. He lifted his hand, using his index finger and poked a raindrop in the air, watching as the waterdrop split, but otherwise remained suspended midair. 

Suddenly, the water moved towards Kuai's body, like smaller magnets to a much bigger magnet. Scorpion watched in awe as the water was absorbed by the clothing that was covering Kuai's stomach. He removed the torn sleeves from her body and saw the water start to accumulate, covering the wound. The liquid glowed brightly, to the extent where Scorpion had to shield his eyes from the sight. When the light died, he looked back down and saw that the wound had closed.

Scorpion looked up to Kuai's pale face, which was starting to regain its natural color. He stepped back as her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up blearily at him. 

"Am I dead?" she rasped, looking up to Scorpion.

"No," Scorpion replied in a less harsh tone, looking down at Kuai. "Quan Chi is dead. We won."

Kuai nodded repeatedly. "Oh. Good." She lay back down on the ground. "I'm going to go to sleep, now."

Scorpion shook her shoulder, preventing her from doing so. "What about your friends?" he asked. The exasperated look on her face only made her look like a bunny rabbit. Full of expression and completely harmless. _And cute..._

Kuai jumped up. "Oh, _shit!"_ She got out her comm, entering Raiden's contact number. She raised it to her ear, listening to the ringtone.

"Raiden!" she exclaimed when the other end picked up. "Quan Chi is dead! We did it!"

”... What do you mean, Liu Kang is dead?”

Kuai couldn't believe what she was hearing. Quan Chi had spoken the truth; Liu Kang, King Lao, Kitana, and Jade had been slain in the fight. Kuai covered her mouth with a hand, taking in the news with shock. 

”I wasn't fast enough,” Kuai whispered, heartbroken. She looked around her, seeing Bi-Han and Scorpion, both of the people she loved had turned into their malevolent undead states. And according to Raiden himself, while the Special Forces team had emerged without serious casualties, the Shaolin and Edenian team were dead. And not only dead, but transformed into one of Quan Chi’s undead creations.

They may have won the fight, but they had lost the battle.

* * *

Raiden had appeared at Kuai’s location after she had pinged him with her comm, taking her, Scorpion, and the incapacitated Noob Saibot back to the house where their journey had started. 

When Kuai felt her feet make contact with solid ground, she fell to her knees on the grass, covered her face with her hands and started to sob. ”I’m so sorry, Raiden,” she said through stuttering breaths. ”I wasn't fast enough.”

The Thunder God smiled sadly down at her. ”None of this was your fault, Kuai Liang.” He looked off into the distance, eyes full of pain. Kuai knew that Raiden had seen Liu Kang and Kung Lao as his own kin, and she knew that he was going through a flurry of emotions.

She shakily got back on her feet, making her way to the house, opening the door and heading inside. 

Sonya was tending to a gash in Kenshi’s shoulder, whilst Johnny and Jax were talking in hushed tones in the kitchen. When Kuai opened the door and stepped inside, all heads turned to face her. Sonya dropped the bandages, making her way to Kuai immediately, pulling her into a hug. No words were exchanged, but they all knew what the other was feeling. Kuai hiccuped, sniffling as she told them what had happened. How they had been ambushed, what Quan Chi had done to Hanzo and Bi-Han, and the aftermath. 

Sonya grimaced. ”Damn. Sounds like you've had it rough.” She led Kuai to the living room and sat her down next to Kenshi. The blind swordsman was unusually quiet, reaching out to take Kuai’s hand. ”What are you feeling? Don't bottle it up,” he encouraged.

Kuai huffed, shaking her head. ”Just when everything seemed to be going okay,” she started, ”it all went to shit. I don't know what I'm supposed to do from here. Raiden says that there's nothing he can do to change the others back to their human forms because Quan Chi is dead. He needed that damn sorcerer alive as a vessel to undo the magic.” Kuai shook her head. ”I feel so useless.”

Kenshi tilted his head to the side. ”There may yet still be a way to bring them back,” he insisted. ”We just need to keep looking and have hope.” He leaned back in his chair, wincing slightly from the wound in his shoulder. Wordlessly, Kuai lifted a hand to the wound, and water from the sink started to trail from it, enveloping the injury. When the water dissipated, the wound had closed. ”Thank you,” Kenshi murmured. He sighed, turning his head away. ”Earthrealm will be defenseless. Outworld is without its rulers. There will be a fight for the throne, for sure. We must remain as vigilant as ever.”

Kuai knew that Kenshi was right. Earthrealm was weakened in its current state. And if an Outworlder supporter of Shao Kahn took the throne, there would be another threat. She got up slowly. 

Jax frowned when he saw her moving toward the door. ”Hey! Where are you going?” he called out after her. 

Kuai turned halfway. ”Kenshi is right. In our current state, we are weak and defenseless. I must go back home to rebuild the Lin Kuei. My clan will be dedicated for the sole purpose of defending Earthrealm from outside threats. But I need to start _now,_ while I still have the chance.” She moved to the door but was stopped by Johnny, who grabbed her arm. ”Wait! Hold up...” He fished in his pocket, pulling out a box. ”It’s a phone. Brand new. I set it up for you and entered our contact information. Keep in touch, okay?”

Kuai smiled tiredly at him. ”Got it.” She stepped outside, breathing in the cool air as the others followed her outside to say their final goodbyes.

Raiden stood next to the frozen statue of Noob Saibot, turning when he saw Kuai and the others coming toward him. ”Ready to go back home, I presume, _Lumi_?” he asked, not unkindly. 

Kuai nodded once. ”Yes.” She looked down at her brother. ”I can't bring him with me. I don't have the proper barriers of protection yet.”

Raiden nodded. ”I am well aware. I will keep him in the Sky Temple and try and find a way to bring him back. And if I fail in this, perhaps we could find a way to make him more humane.” He turned to Kuai. ”Scorpion has left. He expressed his desire to rebuild the Shirai Ryu clan. I doubt we'll be seeing him anytime soon.”

Kuai drew in an unsteady breath. The memories still burned bittersweet in her mind, and she struggled to force them down. ”Okay. I'm ready to go home, now.” Raiden offered an open hand, and Kuai took it immediately.

Before the light enveloped her, Kuai waved shyly towards the others in a final goodbye. They smiled encouragingly in response, and Kuai felt herself relax just a little bit.

Whatever the future had in store for them, she’d be ready. They all would be.


	12. Epilogue

_Three Months Later..._

At the top of an undisclosed location stood a lone figure dressed in her traditional blue garb. She stood before a single cherry blossom tree that looked over the edge of a cliff where the sea rolled violently against the rocks below.

Kuai Liang, Grandmaster of the rebuilt Lin Kuei, bent down to the ground, placing a bouquet of wildflowers at the base of the tree. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting on the grass.

”So much has changed,” Kuai said to the air, the words intended for someone in particular. Her words were thick in her throat, the emotions overwhelming her thoughts. ”Some of my friends are dead, turned into their darker selves. And the realms have become unstable once again.”

”I rebuilt the Lin Kuei again. Earthrealm will need the clan’s strength in the future. I’m going to see Sonya, Johnny, and Jax every now and then. Kenshi has gone away for a time. He’s hunting the Red Dragon and left his son with me. Takeda is his name. He’s already growing up to be a well-mannered boy, much more mature than you or I ever were.”

Kuai huffed, shaking her head as she looked down at the ground. ”Know that there is never a day that goes by when I do not miss you, old friend. I will try and come to visit you as often as I can, but I fear that resuming my clan duties without you to help me will prevent me from making frequent visits in the future.”

She stood up, staring over the cliffs and out to the horizon at the setting sun. ”I have to have hope,” she whispered, ”or else all these sacrifices will have been for nothing.”

Kuai gave one last look down to the roots of the cherry blossom tree. ”Goodbye, Tomas. May you rest in peace, _muj prítel.”_

Water surrounded her body, and when it disappeared from view, so had she, returning to her clan in the frigid tundra that was Artika.


End file.
